'<f  "T  "T"  T  t '  T'  y  T  T  T  'T'  t"'T"  'y  y"  t"'  yy '  y  y  ■■'» 


THE 


WAGE -WORKERS  OF  AMERICA 


AND   THE    RELATION    OF 


CAPITAL  TO  LABOR, 


JOHN  STOLZE,  M.  D., 

AUTHOR    OF     "scientific     LIVING,"     " CAUSE    AND    CURE 

OF    CRIME,"     "treatise    ON    THE    HUMAN    FIVE 

SENSES,"   "mental   HVGIENE,"    ETC. 


"  Now  to  th'  instruction  of  a  humble  friend, 
Who  would  himself  be  better  taught,  attend  ; 
Though  blind  your  guide,  some  precepts  j^et  unknown 
He  may  disclose,  which  you  may  make  your  own." 


READING.  PA.:  CHICAGO,  ILL.: 

Eagle  Book  and  Job  Print.  *  '  "93"  Columbia  Publishing   CoMPA^ 


^: 


Sf, 


DEDICATORIAL! 


'■'■  He  is  next  to  the  gods,  whom  reason,  and  not  passion,  impels."— Clxvdia'S. 


It  may  be  a  mere  custom  for  an  author  to  dedicate  his  book  to 
some  one  of  great  accomplishment,  or  to  a  personal  friend  ;  but  in 
the  present  instance,  the  author  is  actuated  by  a  sense  of  humble 
acknowledgment  (hereby)  of  the  character,  attainments  and  endur- 
ing friendship  of  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Thomas,  D.  D.,  of  Chicago, 
whose  life  has  been  devoted  to  the  elevation  and  emancipation  of 
his  fellowman  ;  keeping  in  view  social  and  political  equity,  promul- 
gating those  principles  which  make  of  AU-of-Us  Neighbors  and 
Brothers  ;  this  work  is  respectfully  inscribed  by  the  author. 

J.  S. 


Entared  accordir^g  fej'-ihe  Act'.cf 'CjorlgTAss,  in  the  year  1893,  by 

'    "OOHN   JjTtoLZEi'M.   D.-,' 
in  the  Offiof^  yf 'the,' Lit-'ranan.  of  C'jnfrrbse.'-at  Washington,   D.  C. 


PRKKACK. 


"  Frieyids  !  Romans  !  Countryrnen  !  Lend  me  your  earP* 

The  lines  we  have  quoted  above  form  the  introduction  to  Mark 
Antony's  speech  in  defense  of  Caesar,  which  is  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  fact  that  the  orator  harangues  in  vain  unless  he  secures  the  atten- 
tion of  his  audience.  So  we  ask  you,  kind  reader,  to  lend  us  your 
attention,  and  give  careful  perusal  to  the  following  pages  to  which  you 
are  hereby  introduced.  The  wage-interest  of  the  wage-earners  of  this 
country  and  the  relation  of  capital  to  labor  form  the  text  of  our  dis- 
sertation. 

The  object  of  writing  this  volume  was  prompted  mainly  by  a  desire 
to  assist  our  fellow-citizens  in  solving  the  problem  of  the  trotibled  labor 
question,  which  we  believe  to  exist  principally  in  a  misconception  of 
the  true  relation  o{  capital  to  labor.  Civic  disturbances,  in  the  form  of 
riots  and  lockouts,  are  signals,  or  evidences,  to  the  inquiring  mind  that 
there  is  something  wrong  somewhere  in  the  administration  of  the  gov- 
ernment; for  it  is  certain,  peradventure,  that  so  long  as  the  self-evident 
rights  of  mati  are  respected  and  maintained  by  the  laws  of  any  country, 
peace  and  prosperity  will  reign  supreme,  for  there  will  be  no  need  for 
political  reform,  and,  with  this  object  in  view,  it  will  be  worth  any 
effort  we  are  capable  of  in  aiding  to  bring  about  such  a  condition. 

The  relation  of  capital  to  labor  is  spoken  of  as  an  tinsolved problem. 
From  the  fact,  then,  that  the  question  is  profound  and  intricate,  much 
deep  study  and  extended  research  is  involved  ;  still  we  hope  our  eflforts 
will  be  rewarded  in  finding  a  correct  solution.  Agitation  keeps  the 
subject  before  the  people.  Some  of  the  most  profound  thinkers  of  the 
nation  are  beginning  to  search  for  the  primary  causes  of  the  many  un- 
desirable effects,  demonstrated  in  the  form  of  civic  disturbances,  which 
have  not  only  cost  millions  of  dollars,  but  thereby  the  lives  of  many 
citizens  have  been  sacrificed. 

All  of  us  are  concerned  in  finding  a  proper  solution  of  the  so-called 
labor  trojible,  and,  with  this  object  in  view,  we  hope  this  volume  will  be 
a  great  help,  for  the  best  that  can  be  done  is  to  educate,  and  to  ex- 


IV.  PREFACE. 

change,  one  with  another,  our  most  matured  thoiighls  bearing  on  this 
question,  that  in  the  near  future  proper  means  of  correction  may  be  at- 
tained to  stay  any  further  difficulty. 

It  is  said  that  all  the  laboring  classes  of  the  civilized  world  have  been, 
and  are,  as  a  body  poor.  This  is  an  incorrect  statement,  for  the  ques- 
tion arises  who  are  the  poor  and  who  are  the  rich  ?  Poverty  and 
wealth  are  at  best  only  relative  states  or  conditions.  When  the  ques- 
tion is  viewed  philosophically,  it  is  not  proper  to  make  a  comparison 
from  the  standpoint  of  ownership,  or  how  much  wealth  one  has,  but 
conditions.  One  may  be  miserably  poor  and  have  plenty  of  money. 
Our  object,  however,  is  not  to  champion  the  cause  of  the  poor  with  a 
view  of  making  everybody  rich,  or  to  make  the  rich  richer,  or  to  take 
from  them  what  by  right  belongs  to  them  ;  but  what  we  contend  for  is 
justice,  that  all  men  may  have  an  equal  chance  under  the  law  of  the  land 
to  acquire  a  competency,  the  same  right  that  nature  gives  to  every  man- 

The  abolition  of  favoritism,  trusts,  monopolies  ;  to  bring  capital  on 
an  equal  footing  with  labor,  that  both  may  make  a  legitimate  profit,  and 
arrest  any  further  unprofitable  means  of  correcting  disputes,  is  our  aim. 

But  little  has  been  written  or  said  by  the  representatives  of  the  medi- 
cal profession,  and  we  believe  that  one  who  has  studied  man,  physi- 
cally and  mentally,  and  the  effects  of  environment  on  his  health  and 
welfare  in  general,  is  especially  qualified  to  treat  the  subject  in  hand, 
and  thus  bring  forward  the  best  thoughts  from  that  source. 

Personally  we  have  no  grievances,  neither  have  we  a  new  and  fan- 
ciful theory  to  offer,  but  shall  follow  datas  well-founded  in  the  fun- 
damental elements  of  good  government.  We  furnish  no  special  index, 
for  the  book  should  be  read  co7isecjitively  in  order  to  be  fully  appreciated^ 
and  by  so  doing  we  feel  assured  that  our  object  will  be  attained. 
Respectfully  your  fellow-citizen. 

The  Author. 


THE  WflGE  =  WORKERS  OF  AMERICA. 
I 

The  Relation  of  Capital  to  Labor  ;  Logical  Points  Regard- 
ing the  Problem  of  the  Labor  Troubles  Noiv  More  or 
Less  Agitated  by  the  People  of  the  United  States  ;  Labor 
Unions  vs.  Capital ;  The  Right  and  Wrong  Side ; 
Where  the  Means  of  Correction  May  be  Found;  The 
Working  Classes  and  Capital ;  LLappy  LLojnes  at  Last 
for  All  Who  Will  Study  the  Subject  ;  The  Wise  States- 
7nan ;  The  Man  Who  LLas  a  LLead  and  also  a  LLeart^ 
Etc.y  Etc. 

If  a  man  is  in  harmony  with  what  surrounds  him  here, 
No  power  can  enslave  him,  no  matter  what  be  his  sphere. 

_,,       ^     ,         _        ,  ,  Doubtless    there    exists    at  tiie 

The  Labor  Trouble.  ^  ^-  ^         ^         . 

present  time  a  greater  antagonism 

between  capital  and  labor  in  this  country  than  was    ever 

known  since  the  Declaration   of  Independence.     The  liain 

reason  may  be  assigned  to  the  fact  that  the  people  are  more 

wide-awake    to  their  own  personal  interests;    or,  perhaps, 

that  the    spirit  of  jnoney-7naki7ig  has  taken  possession    of 

them,  and,  hence,  a  greater  strife  for  supremacy  has  been 

brought  about  by  various  causes.      We  would  mention,  first, 

the  rapid  growth  of  the  nation — not  alone  in  population,  but 

in  wealth,   in  power,  in  enterprise,  in  commerce — so  that, 

notwithstanding    its    being    still    a    young    republic,   it    is 

already  leading  the  nations  of  the  earth.     This  has  created 

a  national  pride,  and  every  true  iVmerican  citizen  feels  proud 

of  the  country  he  lives  in.     Second,  the  success  of  American 

enterprise  and  commercial  supremac}^,  already  being  felt  in 

every  land,  has  created  such   a  potential  inonientuni  in  the 

direction  of  gaining  more  and  more  of  the  same  glory  which 

has  been  attained  in  the  past  (and  no  one  can  at  this  time 

predict,  with  a  certainty,  the  limit  which  may  be  reached), 


6  THE  WAGE-WORKERS   OF  AMERICA. 

that,  to  a  very  great  degree,  the  individual  citizen  has 
caught  the  same  spirit — that  is,  to  accumulate,  to  gain 
wealth,  to  be  rich. 

Primarily  and  naturally  nations  and 
Limits  of  Right,  i^^ji^j^i^ials  have  a  right  to  use  every 
means,  within  the  limits  of  right,  to  gain  in  power  and 
wealth — to  get  all  they  can,  all  they  want,  and,  particularly, 
all  they  need.  But  there  is  a  limit ;  and  this  limit,  both 
legally  and  morally  speaking,  is  the  great  problem  to  ex- 
emplify and  plainly  outline  its  safe  boundaries,  so  all 
peoples  can  see  where  to  pause  and  not  trespass  on  nature's 
reservation. 

The  idea  of  right  implies  a  limit  or  boundary.  Per- 
sonal liberty  is  a  principle  based  on  inalienable  rights  and 
pursuits,  as  one's  own  inclinations  or  conscience  may  dic- 
tate ;  there  is  a  limit  in  unbounded  freedom.  The  same, 
however,  is  true  of  the  restrictions  placed  upon  man  in  re- 
gard to  indulgences  in  partaking  of  food  or  drink,  or  in 
many  other  methods  or  habits  of  living  ;  in  exercise,  labor, 
rest ;  in  acquiring  possessions,  in  traffic  and  many  almost 
innumerable  relationships  of  man's  surroundings  where 
nature  prescribes  certain  limitatiaus  which  circumscribes 
his  liberty. 

Physiological  and  moral  limits,  however,  do  not  enslave 
mankind,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  by  obedience  to  these  lim- 
itations the  perfect  enjoyment  of  freedom  is  the  reward. 
Man  is  never  more  free  than  when  his  conduct  is  within  the 
boundaries  of  right.  The  moment  these  boundaries  are 
ignored,  either  by  laws  enacted  or  by  individual  citizens, 
ignorantly  or  wilfully,  straightway  a  condition  of  slavery  is 
incurred  and  man  is  no  longer  free.  Now  comes  the  law  of 
responsibility,  which  holds  a  charge  against  him,  and  which 
must  be  liquidated  before  perfect  freedom  can  be  enjoyed. 

This  perfect  freedom  is  misunderstood  or  misinter- 
preted by  many  in  this  country,  who  take  license,  or,  in 
plainer  words,  "take  the  kiw  into  their  own  hands,"  and 
think  their  natural  rights  are  invaded  when  they  encounter 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AIMERICA.  7 

restrictions,  which,  if  they  understood  their  "inalienable 
rights,"  as  prescribed  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
of  the  United  States,  would  make  them  grateful  for  the  lim- 
itations therein.  The  moment  these  principles  are  violated 
that  freedom  becomes  a  state  of  servility,  a  charge,  a  re- 
sponsibility, and  freedom  of  conduct  becomes  a  subject  of 
legal  regulation. 

The  greed  and  avarice  of  mankind,  indi- 
Inharmony.  ^.-^^^^jg  ^^^^  nations,  often  carried  beyond 
nature's  limitation,  and  infringing  on  natural  rights, 
has  been,  and  is  now,  the  primeval  factor  in  bringing  about 
strife  and  discord,  which,  if  not  checked,  may  bring  on  ruin 
as  the  final  result. 

That  there  does  exist  a  spirit  of  antagonism  between 
capital  and  labor  in  this  country  cannot  be  denied,  when  the 
many  strikes  and  revolts,  culminating,  in  some  instances, 
in  actual  insurrection,  have,  during  the  past  decade,  too 
fully  demonstrated  this  fact.  These  are  symptoms  of  a  de- 
ranged state  of  the  dodj/  politic^  and  to  find  and  prescribe 
some  radical  cure  for  this  ailment  is  the  sacred  mission  work 
of  the  present  generation.  If  not  attended  to  in  time  abso- 
lute destruction  will  follow,  and  those  who  have  now  the 
power  to  avert  this  catastrophe  wall  bitterly  regret  their 
negligence  when  it  is  too  late  to  arrest  it. 

It  is  not  a  matter  of  pleasant  contemplation  for  the  people 
of  our  great  country  to  entertain  the  idea  that  not  all  is 
peace  and  happy  harmoniousness  in  the  land. 

The  actual  warfare  between  capital  and 
.  \^Q^^  gradually  inaugurated,  for  obvious 
reasons  is  not  reconcilable  with  the  plea  that  we  are  in  ad- 
vance of  other  nations,  or  that  we  have  a  republican  form  of 
government,  with  a  constitution  recognizing  the  "natural 
rights"  of  all  men,  whatever  they  may  be — rich  or  poor, 
wage-worker  or  capitalist. 

The  very  fact  that  a  conflict  is  waged,  by  whomsoever  it 
may  be,  arising  from  disagreements  between  the  wage- 
workers  and  those  who  control  capital,  in  a  country  whose 


8  THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA. 

fundamental  principles  of  government  vouclisafe  peace  and 
plent}-  to  every  household,  suggests  an  honest  and  thorough 
investigation  of  the  cause  of  the  grievances  ;  and,  if  possible, 
to  find  proper  means  by  which  to  stay  any  further  disturb- 
ance. 

The  factors  which  lead  to  disputes, 
Not  One-Slded.  ^^^^^  ^f  wrongs,  imaginary  or  real,  do 
not,  in  fact  cannot,  arise  from  one  side  alone.  As  the  say- 
ing goes,  "  there  are  two  sides  to  a  question."  Mistakes  are, 
as  a  rule,  easily  made,  more  easily  made  than  corrected. 
Doubtless  those  in  control  of  capital  cannot  be  pronounced 
free  from  blame,  or,  in  other  words,  faultless^  and  charge  all 
the  blame  to  the  wage-workers,  and,  forsooth,  vice  versa. 

This  now  opens  the  question,  and  we  invite  our  reader  to 
proceed  with  us  to  examine  some  of  the  principles  relating 
to  capital  and  labor,  for  these  are  the  factors  that  enter  into 
the  main  make-up  of  the  "  labor  qiiestion^^  to  be  settled  by 
the  American  people  in  the  near  future. 

A  short  story  may  be  of  interest 
A  Co-operative  Body.  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^p  ^^  ^^  ^^^^^  ^  correct 

basis  or  point  of  observation,  from  which  to  sally  forth  in 
search  of  the  truth  bearing  on  the  question  under  consider- 
ation. 

We  were  honored  not  long  ago  by  a  visit  from  our  old 
friend.  Dr.  Isaac  H.  Stearns,  an  old  veteran  surgeon  of  the 
late  war,  and  in  conversation  on  various  topics  the  labor 
question  was  broached,  and  we  were  pleased  with  his  re- 
marks— though  metaphorically  spoken — but  fully  embody- 
ing the  truth,  and  that  is  what  we  want.  The  doctor  is 
widely  known  for  good,  sound  judgment  in  matters  apper- 
taining to  statesmanship.  To  the  question  we  propounded 
he  said:  "The  natural  relation  of  capital  and  labor  may  be 
likened  to  the  human  body.  It  has  a  head  and  it  has  hands. 
Then  there  is  a  vital  system.  The  head  thinks  and  com- 
mands and  the  hands  execute  and  labor.  Work  exhausts 
the  body.  The  head,  hands  and  all  parts  ivear  more  or  less 
by  the  business  of  life.     The  vital  system  supplies  nourish- 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OE    AMERICA.  9 

ment  by  digesting  food  and  thus  prepares  it  for  the  builder's 
use  in  all  parts  of  the  body.  The  hands  work  and  gather 
food  for  the  vital  system  to  sustain  the  head  and  also  give 
to  the  hands  a  proper  quota  for  subsistence.  Through  the 
sympathetic  system  of  nerves  all  parts  of  the  entire  body 
enjoy  the  £-ood  in  common  with  the  head,  and  also  partake 
each  its  share  of  suffering."  This  sympathy  of  one  part 
with  another  he  compared  to  that  human  nature  with  which 
all  human  beings  are  endowed,  and  which  gives  birth  to  the 
common  law  of  humanity.  The  hands  then  may  labor  hard 
yet  come  in  for  their  share  of  enjoyment,  when  ztJe  enjoy 
the  good  things  the  hands  provided  for  us — a  sort  of  co- 
operative/Z^;//,  where  the  head  [capital)  divides  with  the 
hands  {the  ivage-ivorker).  "Thus,"  he  said,  "the  capital, 
which  we  will  call  the  head,  canrot,  after  all,  get  on  very 
well  without  the  hands  and  other  expert  workers  which  con- 
stitute the  body — one  grand  system  of  reciprocal  operation, 
Avhere  the  slightest  inharmoniousness  will  shock  the  entire 
economy  of  the  whole  body."  So  let  us  remember  that  the 
head  and  hands  cannot  well  be  separated  and  continue  that 
liarmony  necessary  to  a  perfect  existence. 

It  might  be  profitable  to  tarry 
Push  and  Enterprise.  ^^^^  ^  moment  longer  and  say  that 
the  trouble  popularly  denominated  the  ''labor  trouble''  in 
this  country  largely  arises  from  a  simple  misunderstanding 
of  the  true  relation  of  ''capital  to  labori' 

Capital  alofie  is  inoperative  without  the  help  of  labor. 
The  same  is  true,  to  some  degree,  of  labor.  Yet  labor  can 
get  on  somehow  without  capital.  However,  in  a  country 
like  ours,  with  as  much  push  and  enterprise,  which  will,  in 
this  particular,  give  the  nineteenth  century  a  place  in  the 
world's  history  as  an  epoch  of  remarkable  activity,  we  can- 
not well  afford  to  abolish  capital  and  thus  clog  the  wheels 
of  progress. 

Capital  is  here,  labor  is  here,  and 
Looking  Forward.  ^^^^  business  is  to  harmonize  the  two, 
and  in,  some  way  put  and  end  for  all  time,  in  this  country, 


lO  THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA. 

to  any  further  violence  or  carnal  strife  among  men,  looking 
also  toward  means  of  a  humane  way  of  settling  disputes 
that  may  arise  between  labor  and  capital  in  localities  or 
those  of  a  national  bearing.  If,  as  a  civilized  and  honorable 
people,  we  want  to  be  recognized  by  the  nations  of  the  world, 
we  cannot  afford  to  have  many  repetitions  of  the  so-called 
" Homestead  troubles,"  recently  perpetrated,  or  the  "Idaho 
troubles,"  or  the  "Coal  Creek  troubles"  of  Tennessee,  or 
the  "  Pittsburg  riots,"  of  some  years  since,  and  others,  or 
many  of  lesser  magnitude,  which  threatened  us  with  civil 
war.  If  not  the  latter,  gradually  run  along  until  finally  the 
country  fills  up  with  a  pauper  element,  almost  as  disgrace- 
ful to  a  nation  as  civil  war  itself 

All  this  can  readily  be  obviated 
Unwilling  to  Give  Up.   ^^  ^^^-^^  statesmanship.     We  are 

unwilling  to  give  up,  and  say  that  it  cannot  be  done.  Let 
us  make  this  assertion,  for  the  first  time  in  these  pages,  that 
a  correct  civil  government,  based  on  the  laws  of  nature,  the 
unwritten  law  of  humanity,  and  the  proper  and  absolute  en- 
forcement of  the  laws  so  framed,  will  pilot  the  ship  of  state 
clear  of  breakers,  of  riots,  insurrections  and  pauperism. 

These  are  only  symptoms  of  a  coming  calamity  awaiting 
our  beloved  country,  and  wise  heads,  and  heads  with  a  hearty 
can  7tow  so  treat  the  difiiculty  that  in  a  few  years  we  shall 
have  passed  the  danger  point  altogether.  In  this  laudable 
work  labor  and  capital  are  equally  interested  and  must  co- 
operate in  order  to  succeed. 

A  man  may  have  a  good  business,  he  may  have 
Capital,  j^^^^^i^  money  invested  in  his  business,  and  yet  he 
is  not  a  capitalist  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  Any 
amount  of  money  invested  is  capital — capital  stock,  goods, 
chattels  of  whatever  denomination.  Real  estate  is  capital. 
A  tradesuian  represents  capital,  for  his  labor  is  his  caf^ital^ 
which  brings  him  a  profit,  and  it  should  bring  him  a  profit 
every  day  that  his  labor  is  invested,  the  same  as  when 
money  is  invested.  Money  represents  labor.  It  takes  labor 
to  make  money.     The  same  may  be  said  of  money — that  it 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF    AMERICA.  II 

"  takes  money  to  make  money."      But  there  is  money  that 
does  not  represent  labor. 

The  person  who  has  control  of  money 
The  Capitalist.  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  represent  labor  is  a  capital- 
ist. A  person  who  is  the  owner  of  a  competency,  that  is^ 
one  who  is  independent,  whose  income  is  assured,  covering 
all  possible  exigencies  of  want,  living  at  ease,  and,  if  de- 
sired, can  enjoy  the  luxuries  of  life  without  drawing  on  his 
reserved  capital  ;  such  may  properly  be  denominated  as 
wealthy  or  rich.  But  now  if  this  same  person  has  money 
besides  and  has  it  invested  in  a  manner  that  it  is  constantly 
accumulating,  at  a  greater  or  lesser  per  cent,  beyond  what 
may  be  necessary  to  maintain  a  reasonable  expenditure  of 
living,  then  such  may  be  called  a  capitalist. 

This  kind  of  capital  does  not  represent  labor,  and  it  is  on 

this    point   the    Socialist    af&rms 

The  Socialist  Affirms.  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^p-^^l^  ^^  ^^^  1^,^ 

of  right,  belongs  to  the  people,  and  should  be  divided  among 
them.  What  is  called  a  dividend  in  the  language  of  a  stock 
company,  which  makes  an  annual  pro  rata  division  of  its 
profits  among  those  who  own  the  stock,  so  a  dividend  should 
be  declared  by  the  capitalists  of  the  whole  country  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people.  Of  course,  the  radical  Socialist  goes 
further  than  this  and  foolishly  thinks,  and  argues  his  claims 
with  more  energy  than  wisdom,  that  no  one  has  a  right  to 
be  rich,  to  say  nothing  of  the  capitalist — that  all  men  should 
be  equal  in  their  possessions  of  the  things  of  this  world. 

What  shall  we  then  say  regarding  the  capitalists  ?  The 
best  that  can  be  said,  and  which  our  philosophy  logically 
leads  us  to  determine,  is  that  nothing  can  be  taken  from  a 
person  that  by  right  and  law  belongs  to  him. 

But  this  much  we  say,  that  the 
What  Can  be  Done  ?  pi^nosophy  of  good  government 
regulates  everything  wisely,  even  the  capitalist,  so  no  one 
can  be  injured,  for  the  capitalist  has  his  place  in  society, 
and  in  the  natural  order  of  things  the  same  as  in  everything 
else,  and  can  be  as  easily  reconciled  as  a  part  of  the  whole 


12  THE   WAGE-W0RK?:RS    OF    AMERICA. 

structure  of  the  body  politic  as  a  laborer,  and  the  one  who 
has  no  more  than  his  labor  can  readih^  find  Jiis  place  and 
part  of  the  whole. 

Who  would  build  our  railroads,  our  bridges,  our  great 
works  of  art  if  everybody  simply  made  a  living  and  did  not 
in  some  way  accumulate  something  more,  with  which  they 
would  be  enabled  to  venture  into  an  enterprise  where  money 
is  needed  as  well  as  labor  ?  Some  one  from  the  excess  of 
profits,  accruing  from  speculation,  builds  a  beautiful  monu- 
ment, or  mausoleum,  which  at  once  becomes  a  pleasing  or- 
nament to  a  city  or  landscape  view  in  a  cemetery.  Another 
has  the  money  to  build  some  grand  castle  on  an  elexation 
overlooking  a  city.      He  calls  it  his  residence. 

.  This  gives  work  to   the    man   who 

°  *   wants  it  and  needs  it.      If  everybody 

built  a  ten-story  house  the  sameness  would  destroy  the  pic- 
ture ;  or,  if  ever3'one  built  a  one-story  cottage  the  undesira- 
ble effect  would  be  the  same.  The  pleasing  effect  is  the 
product  in  the  very  fact  that  not  all  people  can  have  things 
alike,  for  want  of  equal  means,  equal  abilities  and  the  law 
of  variation  is  obeyed  in  this  as  in  other  matters.  If  all 
peoples  could  accumulate  no  more  of  this  world's  goods  than 
sufficient  simpl}'  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,  who,  then, 
would  interest  themselves  in  landscape  gardening  and  build 
fine  mansions,  always  enjoyable  to  the  passer  who  has 
studied  art,  or  whose  soul  admires  the  beautiful,  in  art  or 
in  nature  ? 

Equality,  therefore,  is  impossible,  since  differentiation  is 
a  law  of  nature.  If  possessions  of  property,  or  ownership 
of  much  or  little,  makes  a  social  difference,  creates  caste,  so 
to  speak,  then  this  is  an  evidence  that  the  culture  or  educa- 
tion of  such  people  has  been  wofully  neglected,  or  at  least 
has  been  misdirected. 

A  monument  is  to  be  erected  in  mem- 

The  Monument.  r  a-  .•       •  i    j  mm  • 

ory  ot  some  distinguished  person.      1  his 

is  done,  not  alone  in  honor  of  the  person  who  has-  won  great 
distinction  in  the  service  of  humanity,  but  by  this  pulilic 


THE   AV AGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA.  1 3 

recognition  tlie  deed  is  remembered,  and  future  generations 
are  thereby  stimulated  to  live  for  some  purpose,  to  do  some- 
thing by  wliicli  they  will  be  remembered. 

The  wage-worker  alone,  or  the  ordinary  laborer,  cannot 
accomplish  (in  these  matters  of  public  art  and  embellishing 
our  environment)  what  may  be  done  by  the  help  of  the 
capitalist.  A  monument  costing  fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars  can  be  built  by  fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand  people, 
but  if  ten,  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand  capitalists  contribute 
from  the  profits  of  money  invested  (money  at  work),  they 
did  not  have  to  work  for,  will  the  man  who  iearns  but  a  few 
dollars  a  day  object  to  such  an  enterprise? 

We  will  only  state  one  instance  in  point 
A  Noble  Gift.   ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^   readers  to  draw  their  own 

conclusions.  A  syndicate  of  Chicago  some  years  ago  in- 
vested its  capital  in  street  railways,  which  yielded  great 
profit.  The  capital  thus  invested  became  immensely  great, 
but,  as  we  have  elsewhere  stated  in  this  work,  that  capital 
in  the  hands  of  a  philanthropist  need  not  be  feared,  for  it 
may  be  of  great  help  to  the  progress  of  science  and  do  many 
kind  and  noble  deeds  that  go  down  into  histor}^  as  an  honor 
to  the  race. 

Recently  this  same  syndicate  gave  to  the  Chicago  Uni- 
versity enough  money,  conditional,  to  build  the  finest,  the 
best  and  largest  telescope  in  the  world.  This  will  be  among 
the  wonders  of  the  world.  This  telescope  is  to  be  con- 
structed irrespective  of  cost.  It  will  cost  at  a  low  estimate 
a  round  half  million  dollars.  Here  we  have  an  exemplifica- 
tion of  one  of  nature's  means  or  ways  of  making  progress  in 
the  arts  and  sciences,  which,  if  a  hundred  thousand  people 
were  called  on  to  contribute  each  a  pro  rata  share  to  make 
up  the  required  sum,  ninety-nine  thousand,  nine  hundred 
and  ninet3^-nine  would  have  objected  to  so  foolish  an  under- 
taking. 

No,  a  man  has  a  right  to  be  frugal, 
An  Honest  Penny.  ^,^^0^,^^^!  ^^^  wise  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  vocation  or  business,  turning  an  honest  penny 


14  THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF    AMERICA. 

as  often  as  it  is  possible.  There  are  philosophic  and  moral 
principles  which  form  a  natural  basis  for  honest  traffic  and 
competition  in  trade,  governing  the  efforts  of  mankind  in 
acquiring  property  or  wealth.  In  this  all  have  equal  rights. 
If  it  were  not  so  law  and  order  would  take  on  the  form  of 
discord,  and  discord  is  not  a  law  of  nature  ;  strife  for  su- 
premacy would  be  lowered  to  brutal  force,  and  civilization 
again  take  on  the  primeval  state — the  uncivilized. 

All  combinations  of  power,  or  corporations,  using  capital 
unwarranted  by  the  highest  idea  of  right ;  all  labor  unio7is, 
or  orders  of  whatsoever  name  or  nature,  should  carefully  study 
the  limits  of  the  natural  rights  of  man,  that  they  may  re- 
form^ form  and  co7iforni  to  the  highest  principle  oi  good  gov- 
ernment^ or  discord,  revolts,  trouble  of  almost  every  shade 
and  degree  will  arise  among  the  people,  who  otherwise 
might  be  happy  as  one  family. 

It  is  given  to  man  to  do  the  best  lie  can  within  the  boundaries  ot 
right ;  license  which  may  carry  him  beyond  this  will  be  contracting  a 
debt,  and  debt  is  a  mortgage  on  a  man's  liberty.  In  the  short  run  of 
three  score  years  and  ten,  or  however  more  it  may  be,  life  is  too  short 
to  go  into  debt  very  much  ;  debt  enslaves,  and  we  cannot  afford  to  live 
a  life  of  slavery  when  freedom  can  so  easily  be  won,  for  we  are  free 
when  we  are  in  harmony  with  our  environment. 

DEFINITION   AND   CLASSIFICATION. 

In  the  ordinary  and  popular  sense 
Working  Classes.  ^^^^  laboring  classes  are  those  who  per- 
form manual  labor.  This,  however,  is  not  strictly  a  correct 
definition,  for  all  people  who  are  not  able  to  live  without 
work  are  laborers  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  For  con- 
venience we  will  classify  or  divide  them  into  coinmon  labor, 
expert  labor,  professional^  business  and  commercial  labor. 
Then,  again,  labor  may  simply  be  performed  from  physio- 
logical necessity,  which,  properly  expressed,  comes  under 
the  head  of  exercise,  or  sport ;  for  labor,  when  it  does  not 
produce  a  profit,  in  the  sense  of  earning  something,  comes 
irnder  the  head  of  sport,  or  simply  exercise.     Then,  when 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF    A:\IERICA.  1 5 

labor  is  productive,  when  it  is  performed  to  conduct  and 
sustain  the  business  of  living,  all  such  conies  under  the 
head  of  worfz. 

However  often  we  may  use  the  word  labor  when 
^^  *  we  mean  work,  for  either  term  is  commonly  under- 
stood to  mean  work ;  still  there  is  a  proper  difference  and 
should  be  so  understood  generalh' — that  work  always  pro- 
duces^ earns  something,  while  so-called  labor  does  not. 
When  we  say  capital  luorks  we  do  not  mean  that  it  labors ; 
or,  when  a  man  works  we  understand  that  he  is  earning  or 
producing  something,  but  it  is  not  alwaj'S  so  when  he  labors. 
,    .     ^^  ,  ,  All  work  is  said  to  be  honorable 

Work  IS  Honorable.   .^^  ^^^^^.^^  ^.^ere  the  line  of  birth, 

or  blood,  or  caste,  or  honor,  is  not  distinguished  by  posses- 
sions or  riches,  but  is  almost  entirel}^  obliterated.  Yet  we 
have  those  among  us  who  are  obliged  to  perform  menial 
labor,  servant  work,  and  come  under  the  head  of  common 
labor,  or  luiskillcd  luork^  whether  performed  as  attendants  or 
helpers  in  our  shops,  fields  or  in  our  kitchens,  and  this  class 
demands  passing  notice,  for  the}^  are  here  and  must  receive 
courteous  attention  in  the  study  of  the  "labor  question,"  as 
much  so  as  those  who  occup}-  a  higher  plane  in  society. 

If  the  reader  belongs  to  the  common  working  class,  and 
if  you  do  not  like  your  station,  our  advice  to  you  is  to  strike 
out.  Stud}^,  read  books,  learn  a  trade  ;  in  some  way  fit 
yourself  for  some  particular  vocation,  like  Andrew  Johnson, 
General  Grant,  Lincoln,  Garfield  and  a  thousand  others, 
who  rose  from  the  plane  you  now  occupy,  and  everybody 
can,  Avho  will,  rise  in  grade  or  degree  of  work  to  a  more  ex- 
alted position  in  the  world.  But  you  must  not  wait  until 
some  one  lifts  you  up ;  you  must  go  to  work  and  lift  your- 
self; you  must  try  and  control  circumstances.  True  merit, 
udth  "  clear  grit"  to  back  it  up,  will  soon  be  in  demand  for 
a  higher  position,  and  you  will  think  better  of  yourself  and 
you  will  have  a  more  exalted  opinion  of  your  fellow-man. 
Those  people,  as  a  rule,  who  occupy  a  menial  station  in 
societ}',  have  a  very  poor  opinion  of  mankind  generally, 


l6  THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF   AMERICA. 

unless  they  are  too  obtuse  to  be  conscious  of  the  plane  they 
occupy.  As  an  artisan  the  only  \v3.y  you  can  rise  to  a 
higher  position  among  the  working  classes  is  by  skill, 
personal  accomplishments,  a  cultured  mind,  in  a  word,  be- 
come master  of  your  business,  and  capital,  as  powerful  and 
arrogant  a  thing  as  it  is,  will  make  its  obeisance  to  you,  and 
3'ou  are  what  nature  intends  you  should  be,  a  free  man. 

.      .  The  working  classes  include  a  very 

A  Large  Majority.  ^^^^^  majority  of  the  population  of 
this  countr3\  There  are  comparatively  few  people  who  do. 
not,  in  some  way,  have  to  work.  The  common  workers, 
performing  ma^iual  labor  [der  Allgctnein  Tagelcehne?')^  are 
small  in  number  when  compared  with  the  masses  of  work- 
ers who  conduct  business,  far^n  work.,  and  the  expert  or 
skilled  workers,  all  of  whom  at  once  rise  above  servant  work 
by  reason  of  their  vocation,  which  requires  study,  experi- 
ence and  training. 

This  elevates  you  above  the  common  workman,  not  in  a 
social  sense,  but  as  compared  in  skill,  and  this  alwa5^s  has 
and  always  will  command  better  pay.  The  time  it  takes  to 
prepare  yourself  for  the  position  must  be  rewarded,  and  is 
by  common  consent.  Of  skilled  labor  we  will  have  occasion 
to  say  more.  Also  the  sociological  influence  of  vocation  on 
character  and  the  growing  depreciation,  in  more  ways  than 
one,  of  skilled  labor. 

^,      ,-r»  ,,T     i  Then    all   who   work   for  daily 

The  Wage-Workers.  ^^.^^^^^  ^^  ^j,  ^.^^  ^^^^  stipulated 

salaries,  are  properly  called  wage-workers^  or  wage-earners. 
This  class  constitutes  a  large  proportion  of  the  population 
of  America. 

It  is  a  fact  that  there  are  over  forty-one  millions  of  wage- 
earners  in  this  country  at  the  present  time,  and  hence  it  can 
readily  be  seen  that,  since  there  is  so  large  a  number  of 
people  in  excess  of  those  who  do  not  work  for  wages,  it  will 
require  able  statesmanship  to  regulate  by  law  and  to  correct 
the  present  status  between  capital  and  labor,  so  that  all  peo- 
ple are  justly  dealt  with — that  is,  that  all  receive  their  just 


I.  HOLDEN  STEARNS,  M.  D. 
Plate  I-For  sketch  see  page  218. 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA.  1 7 

dues  and  tluis  avoid  all  possible   grievances  and  fulfill  the 

mission  of  the  law.     Then  there  are  something  over  twelve 

millions  of  people  in  this  countr}^  who  belong  to  the  zvorki7ig 

class  who  do  not  perform  hired  labor,  but  carry  on  business, 

or  occupations  for  themselves,  and  hence  are  not,  properly 

speaking,  wage-earners. 

_,      .  ,„  Many  of  our  most  substantial  business 

Business  Men.  ^,  ,  i    ,  .•     x  • 

men  are  those  who  vv-ork  (occupation)  m 

connection  with  their  own  capital.  They  invest  what  money 
they  have  and  work  as  well  as  manage  their  own  business. 
The}^  may  hire  what  labor  they  may  require,  carry  on  busi- 
ness in  a  legitimate  manner  and  may  be  classed  with  the 
working  classes,  but  are  not  wage-earners. 

A  3'oung  man  learns  a  trade  ;  for  a  number  of  3'ears  he  is 
a  wage-worker.  If  he  is  what  every  young  man  should  be 
he  will  save  a  little  mone^^  In  the  course  of  time  he  con- 
templates matrimony.  He  marries,  and  with  his  wife  they 
manage  to  lay  aside  some  of  the  profits  of  his  labor.  May- 
hap in  a  few  years  a  small  legac}^  falls  to  them.  Being  a 
master  of  his  business  he  starts  on  his  own  accord,  and  not 
ashamed  to  work,  he  manages  his  own  business  and  labors 
with  his  own  hands.  The  wife  takes  care  of  the  household 
equally  as  well  and  in  a  few  years  the}^  possess  a  compe- 
tenc}'.  These  are  our  most  substantial  business  men.  Give 
them  half  a  chance  and  they  will  make  life  a  success.'-' 

In  many  instances  they  work  harder  than  au}^  of  those 
the}'  hire.  They  have  to  plan  and  perform  great  mental 
work,  as  well  as  to  work  with  their  own  hands.  As  a  rule, 
when  the  day's  work  is  done,  ordinarily,  the  wage-earner 
has  no  further  interest  in  the  business  of  the  man  or  com- 
pau}^  for  whom  he  works,  more  than  to  put  in  the  day,  while 
those  who  pay  him  his  hire  carry  all  responsibility,  meet  all 
expenses,  study  the  markets,  solicit  patronage,  figure  profits 
and  adjust  losses.  These  are  the  hardest-worked  people  we 
have,  and  the   ordinary  wage-earner  has  scarcely  an   idea, 

-'"This  subject  is  more  fully  treated  in  another  part  of  this  book 
under  the  head  of  "  Competition." 


l8  THE    WAGE-WORKKRS    OF    AMERICA. 

and  cares  less,  about  these  matters,  and  many  times,  accord- 
ing to  our  own  observation,  business  has  been  greatly  ham- 
pered by  labor  unions,  who  imagine  they  have  been,  or  are, 
injured  by  a  slight  reduction  in  wages,  when,  in  fact,  the 
market,  and  perhaps  competition,  caused  a  reduction  of 
profits,  so  that  something  had  to  be  done  to  keep  the  con- 
cern from  becoming  insolvent.  These  are  matters  for  the 
wage-earners  to  study  well  and  confer  with  their  employer, 
and  the  employer  should  be  willing  to  meet  his  working 
people  and  use  every  rational  means  to  come  to  a  proper 
understanding  before  any  rash  course  is  taken  by  either  the 
employer  or  the  employed,  for  they  are  as  one  after  all,  and 
are  equally  interested  in  the  success  of  the  business  of  the 
establishment  or  factory. 

Then  we  have  those  among 
Adventure  Speculators.  ^^^  ^^^  .^^.^^^  ^^p-^^1  ^^^^^^l_^,  ^s 

a  speculation,  and  who  come  under  the  head  of  adventurers 
in  business.  This  class  of  business  men  strain  every  nerve, 
stretch  their  conscience  to  any  extent,  to  ''make  their  pile," 
as  they  say.  They  care  very  little  for  the  v.elfare  of  their 
employees,  either  morally,  legally  or  bodily.  They  work 
their  people  on  the  cart-horse  principle,  tlic  cliie/  end  of 
which  is  money.  It  is  this  class  of  capitalist's  who  seek  for 
monopoly,  to  form  trusts,  pools,  and  never  stop  to  inquire 
into  the  question  of  right.  The  people  are  at  their  mercy. 
These  institutions  make  money  in  two  wa^'s.  One  is  by 
controlling  prices — controlling  the  market.  Another  way 
they  have  is  to  reduce  and  keep  down  the  wages  of  their 
employees  at  all  hazards,  right  or  wrong,  and  it  is  through 
the  instigation  of  concerns  of  this  order  that  trouble  comes  ; 
strikes,  disagreements,  just  grievances,  which  at  once  be- 
come a  matter  for  legal  arbitration  and  legal  regulation,  in 
order  that  justice  is  done  to  the  general  public,  as  well  as 
the  wage-earners,  who  come  under  the  lash  of  capital  ope- 
rated by  a  spirit  of  imperialism — wliich  has  no  respect  for 
humanity  other  than  to  hll  their  own  coffers  at  the  expanse 
of  all  who  have  any  df^a.lings  with  them. 


THE    WAGE-WORKERS    OF    AMERICA.  19 

This  kind  of  corporations  or  business  concerns  are  often 
short-lived,  for  there  is  but  one  other  way  by  which  they  can 
make  big  vioncy^  and  this  is  to  go  into  a  state  of  liquidation, 
at  the  first  opportunity,  when  it  will  pay  to  wind  up  on  a 
basis  of  low  assets  and  large  indebtedness. 

It  is  our  intention,  as  far  as  practical,  to  make  research 
into  the  cause  of  the  so-called  labor  trouble^  to  the  end  that 
the  management  of  the  same  may  be  entirely  under  our 
control.  We  hope,  also,  to  be  fully  able,  as  we  progress  in 
our  investigations,  to  elucidate  and  give  good  reasons  for  a 
state  of  society  as  described,  in  one  sentence,  by  a  repre- 
sentative of  New  York.     He  says  : 

' '  Within  the  last  decade  we  have  seen  tremendous  strikes  and  lock- 
outs among  the  railroad  men,  the  miners,  the  iron-workers,  the  tele- 
graph operators,  the  dock  laborers,  the  building  trades,  etc.,  all  indi- 
cating to  the  student  of  social  relations  the  growing  unrest  of  the 
working  masses  in  this  country,  all  emphasizing  the  fact  that  our  free 
political  institutions — if  free  they  are — have  not  as  3^et  secured  to  the 
toiling  millions  that  happiness,  the  pursuit  of  which  is  guaranteed  to 
them  as  a  sacred  and  inalienable  right." 

DISCOVERIES  ;     NECESSITIES  ;      DEMAND   FOR   CAPITAL  ;     FOR 

TRADESMEN  ;    FOR  SKILLED  LABOR  ;    RUSH  OF  BUSINESS  ; 

AN  AGE  OF  ELECTRIC  COMMERCE,  ETC.,  ETC. 

Progress  is  the  spirit  of  the  age.  Improve- 
Discovery.  ^^^^^^  -^  ^^  order  of  the  day.  No  sooner  is  a 
new  discovery  made  than  straightway  some  one  makes  an 
improvement  and  leads  off.  Discovery,  called  inventions,"^ 
gave  birth  to  a  vast  system  of  industrial  art.  Half  a  cen- 
tury ago  it  was  barely  possible  for  friends  to  visit  each  other 
at  a  distance.  Now,  by  means  of  railroads,  inter-communi- 
cating with  every  city,  county  and  precinct,  we  have  become 
a  nation  of  travelers.  Formerly  moving  of  freight  was  ac- 
complished by  the  slow  horse  cart  or  ox  team,  and  here  we 

*We  say  so-called  inventions,  for  though  popularly  accepted  as 
being  correctly  spoken,  we  deny  its  correctness,  for  an  invention  would 
be  a  creation,  when  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  discovery,  the  principle 
of  which  existed,  only  man  had  not  discovered  it,  and  hence  all  so- 
called  inventions  are,  properly  speaking,  discoveries. 


20  THE   WAGE-WORKERvS    OF    AMERICA. 

can  readily  see  that  there  was  no  demand  for  capital  in 
founding  large  manufacturing  institutions  for  the  purpose 
of  building  railroad  machinery,  for  the  very  best  reason  that 
the  idea  of  a  railroad  had  not  yet  taken  material  form ;  the 
genius  of  the  inventor  was  yet  asleep. 

The  tallow  dip  has  been  grandly  superseded  by  the  dis- 
covery of  principles  and  machinery  in  utilizing  electricity, 
which  almost  has  turned  night  into  day.  Millions  of  capi- 
tal came  into  demand  to  manufacture  electric  supplies.  A 
new  avenue  for  skilled  artisans  to  exercise  their  construc- 
tive facult}^  and  thus  acquire  a  new  source  of  subsistence. 

Discovery  has  lightened  labor  in  a 
Labor  Lightened.  ^^^Q^g^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ,^^^ys_     Husbandry 

is  no  longer  a  S3monym  for  the  drudgery  and  toilsome  labor 
of  the  farm.  The  sickle  is  now  preserved  along  with  the 
Spinning  wheel  of  our  grandmothers  as  a  relic  of  antiquit}^ 
when  the  world  was  yet  in  darkness.  A  man  would  reap 
from  one-half  to  an  acre  of  wheat  in  a  day ;  now  a  good 
reaper  (machine)  will  accomplish  the  w^ork  of  twenty  men. 
In  those  days  it  took  all  of  a  woman's  time  to  run  one 
spindle — that  is,  when  she  spun  she  could  do  no  more  than 
attend  one  spindle  or  spinning-wheel.  Now,  in  our  cotton 
factories,  one  woman  can  attend  to  several  hundred,  turning 
out  more  work  than  one  hundred  women  could  do  before  the 
"invention"  of  the  spinning-jenny,  and  so  it  is  in  every 
branch  of  industry  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other. 

The  expeditious  manner  in  which  everything  is  done  at 
this  age  of  activity  and  enterprise  now  enables  nearly  every- 
body to  take  a  short  vacation  and  visit  some  summer  or 
winter  resort  by  the  sea,  or  other  places  of  interest,  in  differ- 
ent climates,  without  interrupting  their  business  very  much, 
and  at  comparatively  small  expense,  and  thus  widening 
local,  financial  and  social  interests,  until  the  great  Ameri- 
can institutions.  States  and  communities  have  become  as 
one  neighborhood,  and  as  one  family — the  people.  Now  a 
man  or  woman  thinks  it  no  very  great  undertaking  to  attend 
a  convention  or  some  conclave  five  hundred  or  five  thousand 


THE  WAGE-WORKERS   OF  AMERICA.  21 

miles  away,  while  not  many  years  ago  an  errand  on  busi- 
ness or  a  visit  to  friends  thirty  or  fifty  miles  away  caused 
the  family  much  worriment  until  a  safe  return  was  made. 

This  wonderfully  uneasy  and  enter- 
Uneasy  People,  pj-jg^j^g  disposition  of  our  people,  urged 
on  by  discovery,  has  given  rise,  and  is  still  at  work,  to  many 
manufactories  of  almost  every  description,  for  which  there 
was  no  demand  half  a  century  ago.  Extensive  mining 
operations  have  been  inaugurated  in  iron,  lead,  copper,  coal, 
silver,  gold,  etc.,  giving  employment  to  thousands  of  people, 
as  well  as  to  the  employment  of  capital,  for  which  there  was 
no  demand  before  necessity  called  it  into  use.  All  these 
various  conditions  of  the  rapidly-growing  social  and  indus- 
trial systems  was  created  as  the  legitimate  outcome  of  con- 
stant improvements  and  openings  made  by  discoveries  ;  new 
channels  for  the  exercise  of  man's  capabilities  in  widening 
industrial  resources. 

The  agricultural  worker,  whose  place  was  taken  by  ma- 
chinery on  the  farm,  has  been  called  into  work-shops  and 
vocations  of  mechanical  industry,  by  which  transformation 
and  radical  change  of  the  entire  social  system  within  the 
last  half  century,  as  a  natural  sequence  has  produced  a  world 
of  wage-earners,  and  rationally  viewing  the  subject  a  differ- 
ent system  of  government,  to  a  great  degree,  to  meet  the 
exio-encies  of  the  times,  is  called  for,  and  must  wisely  follow, 
or  rather  should  lead,  the  star  of  enterprise  and  progress. 

To  exemplify  let  us  think 
Like  Thousands  of  Others.   ^^  telegraphy.      Before  the 

discovery  of  utilizing  electricity  as  a  means  of  communicat- 
ing one  part  of  the  world  with  another,  telegraph  operators 
were  not  in  demand.  Now  this  has  become  a  profession. 
The  business  of  telegraphy  is  an  art  of  a  high  order  and 
should  be  classed  with  the  learned  professions.  He  is,  how- 
ever, a  wage-earner,  and  so  are  thousands  of  others  who  are 
Jiigli  uf)  in  their  special  line  of  mechanical  art  and  science. 
Each  in  his  specialty,  for  which  nature  and  training  have 
been  fitting  him   from  the  common  workman,  or  helper,  re- 


22  THE   WAGP>WORKERvS    OF   AMERICA. 

quiring  no  particular  skill  or  training,  up  to  tlie  expert^ 
who  requires  years'  of  hard  study  to  enable  him  to  take  a 
position  as  a  metallurgist,  as  an  electrician,  or  a  thousand 
other  places  commanding  now  in  the  industrial  art,  so-called 
expert  labor,  and  however  high  up  in  ability  or  accomplish- 
ment in  the  arts  and  science  of  the  various  occupations,  if 
wages  or  salary  is  paid  then  they  are  wage-earners,  and  this 
applies  to  all  conditions  of  life,  men  and  women,  who  do  not 
conduct  business  for  themselves.  This  latter  class  may  all 
be  working  people,  but  they  are  not  to  be  classed  with  those 
who  are  employed  and  receive  a  stipulated  salary  or  wages. 
Having  now,  though  briefly,  stated  enough  to  interest 
our  reader,  we  trust  to  begin  to  study,  or  think  further,  on 
the  great  factor  which  has  filled  our  country  with  an  ele- 
ment not  existing  at  all  fifty  years,  or  even  twenty-five, 
years  ago.  Comparatively  considered  a  small  amount  of 
capital  was  then  invested  in  manufactories.  There  was  no 
demand  for  it.  Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  may  be  denominated  wage-earners,  and  henc  e 
we  can  readily  see,  when  the  subject  is  fully  analyzed,  how 
difficult  it  is  to  grapple  with  the  great  problem  of  the  philo- 
sophic and  sociological  bearings  of  capital  and  labor  and 
reach  a  correct  solution. 

Besides  the  inducement  of  good 
Man's  Social  Nature,   ^^^^^^^^g,  i,,  occupations  there  are 

two  other  factors  that  go  far  in  bringing  people  to  locate  m 
cities  and  enter  professions  and  vocations  as  artisans.  The 
first  we  would  mention  is  \\\^v^^  social  nature,  which  is  more 
easily  satisfied  in  channels  of  industry  that  associates  them 
with  their  fellow-man  more  closely  in  cities,  and  shops  cr 
factories,  than  is  possible  in  rural  life.  Then  those  people 
who  are  largely  endowed  with  the  social  nature  seek  society, 
and  hence  are  readily  attracted  by  tlie  glittering  promises 
of  a  city  life. 

This  is  especially  true  of  the  young  and  the  rising  gen- 
eration, whose  nervous  system  easily  partakes  of  the  excite- 
ment and  push  of  the  present  age,  which  may  be   properly 


TITK    WAGE-WORKERS    OE    AMERICA.  23 

looked  upon  as  the  age  0/  electricity.  However,  when  they 
get  through  and  reach  the  years  of  sober  thought,  and  when 
they  have  made  the  experiment  in  their  search  for  happi- 
ness in  the  ga3^er  circles  of  society,  they  long  for  a  home  in 
the  country,  and  regret  that  they  ever  left  the  business  and 
art  of  "  tilling'the  ground,"  where  nature  is  always  kind  to 
man,  especially  to  those  who  make  her  close  acquaintance. 

_    ,.    -      -  ^,  ..         .  It  is  easier  to  work  for  washes 

Relief  of  Obligations.  ^i        ^  i      • 

*^  til  an  to  carr}^  on   business  ;    you 

do  not  have  to  think  much,  only  perhaps  to  study  your 
special  work  ;  3'ou  do  not  have  to  look  after  the  wherewith, 
and  thus  the  obligations  of  life  are  much  lightened,  and 
that  which  will  interest  them  most  is  to  get  big  wages  and 
put  in  the  time.  This  is  a  growing  evil  among  the  people, 
namely,  a  disposition  to  shift  obligations  on  to  some  one 
else,  to  shirk  responsibilities  ;  this  is  an  important  consid- 
eration with  the  wage-workers,  and  is  right  within  a  proper 
limit.  This  is  a  study  for  the  wage-earner  in  order  that  his 
hours  of  hard  labor  may  not  rob  him  of  his  health,  for  health 
is  his  wealth  and  comes  within  the  perview  of  self-protection, 
for  if  he  does  not  look  after  his  own  welfare  who  will  ?*  But 
as  we  have  said  that  it  is  a  growing  evil  to  shift  responsi- 
bility too  much,  for  by  assuming  willingly  the  obligations 
of  life  the  mind  is  strengthened  and  is  one  of  nature's 
means  of  mental  evolution.  The  object  of  short  hours,  no 
obligations  and  big  pay  alone  is  not  the  proper  aim  of  life, 
for  doubtless  this  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  wage-earners 
has  brought  about  a  condition  that  has  widened  the  natural 
relation  of  capital  to  labor  so  that  the  result  is  already  being 
felt. 

In  the  next  place  we  would  mention  that  the  social  nature 
being  satisfied  with  city  life,  and  hope  of  big  earnings,  it  is 
further  argued  that  there  are  greater  advantages  in  getting 
an  education  and  acquiring  personal  accomplishments,  im- 
possible to  be  obtained  in  the  country.     Now  this  all  may  be 

*The  subject  of  long  hours  is  fully  treated  under  the  head  of  "  Phys- 
iological Limitations." 


24  THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF    AMERICA. 

true,  especially  since  the  farmer  yields  these  points  and  un- 
derrates his  social  standing  and  place  in  societ}^  The  time 
will,  however,  come  in  this  countr}-  when  it  will  be  just  the 
reverse.  One  thing  is  certain  :  that  nature  has  reserved 
the  American  continent  as  a  field  for  development  of  the 
agricultural  science,  or  the  art  of  husbandry.  We  never 
can  become  a  manufacturing  nation  more  than  what  we  need 
ourselves.  To  aspire  to  export  manufactured  goods  and 
become  a  nation  of  factories  is  an  ambition  in  the  MTong 
direction. 

^        «    .,         ,  -r^,.        .  Political  campaio^ns  are  Q^reatly 

The  Soil  and  Climate.       ,,        .     .,,   ,\^  "^ .        .*         . 

enthused  with  the  idea  of  Ameri- 
can industr}^,  looking  towards  going  into  the  markets  of  the 
world  and  competing  with  other  nations.  Our  agricultural 
product  is  that  which  will  lead  all  other  nations  of  the 
world.  We  have  the  soil,  the  climates  and  every  natural 
resource  to  not  only  grow  all  kinds  of  fruit  and  cereals  that 
we  need,  but  can  furnish  more  than  half  the  M'orld  with 
wheat  and  corn  and  other  products  that  we  can  export,  and 
hence  we  predict  that,  as  by  the  many  new  discoveries  and 
the  openings  made  for  the  artisans  to  exercise  their  various 
inventive  and  constructive  faculties,  and  for  other  reasons 
we  have  mentioned,  a  large  army  of  wage-earners  have  been 
created  and  cities  filled  up  with  them — the  time  is  not  long 
in  the  future  when  there  will  be  an  exodus  back  to  rural 
life  again,  and  when  the  farm  will  furnish  sufficient  inter- 
est to  exercise  all  the  artistic  faculties  of  man's  nature. 
The  social  institution  as  well  as  the  technics  will  all  look  to 
the  agricultural  art  as  the  leading  and  highest  branch  of 
all  the  commercial  and  industrial  traffic. 

Strikes  and  lockouts  are  evils   re- 
Misunderstanding.   ^^^^^.^^^    ^^^^^^   ^    misunderstanding, 

more  than  any  other  cause,  of  the  true  relation  capital  and 
labor  sustain  to  each  other.  The  idea  of  co-operative  work 
is  beautifully  exemplified  by  the  work  done  in  the  humau 
body,  which  we  presented  in  what  we  called  a  "  little  story" 
in  previous  pages.     Let  us  now  draw  another  lesson  from 


ED^WARD  EVANS. 


Plate  II— For  sketch  see  page  2  18. 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF    AMERICA.  25 

nature,  and  we  know  no  better  source  for  correct  similitudes 
than  the  great  book  of  nature,  and  the  nearer  we  keep  to  her, 
not  alone  in  our  every-day  life,  but  in  framing  our  laws  and 
organizing  all  social  institutions,  the  better  it  will  be  for  us 
and  the  more  happy  and  successful  will  we  be  in  our  under- 
takings. This  time  we  will  draw  our  analogy  from  natural 
science,  which  will  at  least  arouse  a  more  careful  study  of 
the  subject,  if  it  is  not  entirely  convincing. 

Capital  and  labor,  as  society  is  thereby 
Lever  Power,   ^izf^^^^^^  ^^  i^^   t^e  social  and  commercial 

sense,  may  be  likened  to  leverage  in  mechanics.  Lever 
power  is  a  compound  of  two  inseparable  principles.  That 
is,  the  lever  and  fii/cnivi.  But  the  moment  you  separate 
them  you  have  neither.  The  lever  is  no  more  ;  the  fulcrum 
is  also  gone.  The  moment,  however,  the  two  are  joined  in 
proper  relation  you  have  power,  or  force,  and  this  also  at 
once  becomes  operative  and  can  be  made  to  do  work.  The 
longer  the  lever  and  the  nearer  the  fulcrum  to  the  point  of 
leverage  the  greater  will  be  the  power.  The  farther  they 
are  separated,  that  is  the  fulcrum  from  the  leverage,  the 
less  will  be  the  force  or  power.  It  was  Archimedes  who 
said  if  he  could  find  a  proper  fulcrum  he  could  construct  a 
leverage  to  raise  the  earth.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  these 
principles  in  physical  science  are  the  most  powerful  which 
enter  into  the  mechanism  of  all  machinery  known  to  man. 
Now  let  us  call  capital  the  lever  and  labor  the  fulcrum, 
or  vice  versa,  if  you  please  ;  and  as  in  the  leverage  power 
they  are  inseparable  principles  if  they  are  to  be  operated  in 
doing  work.  Separate  them  and  we  have  neither.  Capital 
is  only  such  when  it  is  in  active  relation  with  labor,  other- 
wise there  is  no  capital.  The  same  is  true  of  labor,  or 
work — it  is  only  such  when  it  does  souiething,  and  when 
■co-operating  in  conjunction  with  capital.  This  is  the  lever- 
age that  moves  the  world  and  is  the  end  and  beginning  of 
.commerce.  Now,  then,  the  further  you  remove  these  two 
factors  in  commercial  science  from  each  other  the  less  opera- 
tive they  are  and  the  less  force  we  have. 


26  THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA. 

Unit}^  of  principles,  in  their  reciprocal  relation,  if  properly 
understood  become  a  great  help  in  whatever  is  to  be  accom- 
plished. The  greatest  facilit}^  is  afforded  tis  by  a  combined 
effort  of  the  people  in  bringing  about  social  reform,  or  enact- 
ing laws  which  are  intended  to  protect  the  citizen  in  all 
that  is  essential  to  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  natural  rights. 
As  we  look  about  us  the  idea  of  reciprocal  activity  and  ex- 
istence meets  us  everywhere,  and  it  may  be  profitable  for  us 
to  extend  our  thoughts  and  notice  another  striking  exem- 
plification of  the  fact  that  in  unity  there  is  strength.  " 

_  .,  ^-   ^         ,  The  general  law  of  <f<9rr^/«/z'<9;/,  which 

Like  a  Network.  -  ^^        ^^  ^       •         i     r    n 

IS,  perhaps,  the  most  universal  oi   all 

ultimate  principles  by  which  everything  is  governed  in  its 
relation  to  everything  else,  will  apply  to  governments,  peo- 
ples, social  institutions,  the  family  or  the  individual. 

Every  existing  thing  derives  its  power,  its  means  of  ex- 
istence and  keeping  luholc  all  of  its  attributes  of  individuality 
from  its  environment.  So  in  turn  it  supports  some  other 
existence,  and  so  on  throughout  all  the  various  realms  of 
matter,  and  the  same  rule  holds  good  among  the  gases,  the 
imponderable  forces,  as  also  the  life-giving  elements. 
Ox3'gen,  in  its  iinion  with  hydro-carbon,  gives  rise  to- 
motion,  and  wherever  motion  exists  heat  is  a  product,  and 
this  becomes  at  the  same  time  an  exponent  of  force,  and 
nature's  workshop  is  in  full  operation.  Organization,  life, 
electricity^,  disorganization,  metamorphosing,  correlation, 
and  conservation,  are  conditions  and  principles  of  rulings, 
and  of  power  that  bind  all  together  into  one  grand  whole, 
though  made  up  of  many  parts.  Perfect  reciprocal  opera- 
tion governs  the  whole.  Harmony,  then,  in  all  relations  of 
existence  of  our  environment,  from  which  we  may  learn  what 
laws  or  rulings  human  beings  nia}^  best  enact  to  succeed  in  all 
social  and  commercial  relations,  which,  when  the  \\hole 
subject  is  canvassed,  we  will  find  that  no  one  can  live  alone 
— that  is,  no  one  all  by  himself  We  need  each  other.  The 
tiller  of  the  ground,  the  machinist,  the  scholar,  the  states- 
man— all,  whatever  position  may  Ijc  occupied  in  the  v:irious 


THK   WAGE-WORKERS    OE    A^I ERICA.  2/ 

social  institutions  of  the  great  body  politic,  are  interwoven 
into  one  common  interest,  under  the  law  of  correlation,  which 
not  only  binds  together  the  earth,  but  puts  its  arms  around 
man  and  thus  makes  him  a  part  of  the  whole. =^' 

Capital  cannot  get  away  from  labor,  neither  can  labor  get 

awa}^  from  capital.     The  mo- 
The  Law  of  Correlation.  ^^^^^^^  ^.^^^^^.  ^^.^^^  ^^  \,^^om^ 

separated  a  hitch  will  occur,  and  if  not  checked  in  its  first 
stages  serious  trouble  may  result.  Whatever  the  vocation 
may  be  naturally  each  take  their  respective  place  in  the 
make-up  of  the  general  public.  The  whole  people  are  in 
sympathy  with  all  the  various  divisions  and  grades  of  the 
wage-workers,  business  men  and  capitalists.  All  together 
form  a  network  and  interblends,  one  supporting  the  other, 
and  one  is  as  important  as  the  other  in  the  make-up  of  our 
national  commerce,  as  well  as  the  business  of  local  com- 
munities. 

Having  now  succeeded,  as  we  believe  we  have,  in  finding 
and  elucidating  clearly  the  proper  relation  of  capital  to 
labor,  and  also  in  reaching  a  correct  understanding  of  ulti- 
mate elements,  or  principles,  which  together  bring  before 
our  mind  the  iionual  conditions  of  man's  relations,  all  of 
which,  if  carried  out  practically  and  lived  up  to,  would  do 
away  with  all  quibbles  and  quarrels  which  now  arise  be- 
tween capital  and  labor,  it  now  becomes  our  lot  to  make 
further  inquiry  into  at  least  some  of  the  causes  which  lead  to 

ABNORMAL    CONDITIONS, 

And  which  have  brought  about  violations  of  cardinal  prin- 

*  We  quote  the  following  from  the  writings  of  the  greatest  law-giver 
and  moralist  ancient  Rome  ever  had,  if  not  the  world,  Marcus  Aurelms 
Antonius,  a  Roman  emperor  who  recognized  these  principles  as  early 
as  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era  :  "  In  the  series  of  things 
those  which  follow  are  always  aptly  fitted  to  those  which  have  gone 
before  ;  for  this  series  is  not  like  a  mere  enumeration  of  disjointed 
things,  which  have  only  a  necessary  sequence,  but  it  is  a  rational  con- 
nection ;  and  as  all  existing  things  are  arranged  together  harmoniously 
so  the  things  which  come  into  existence  exhibit  no  mere  succession, 
but  a  certain  wonderful  relationship." 


^8  THE   WAGK-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA. 

•ciples  of  good  statesmanship  and  the  normal  relation  of 
capital  to  labor,  the  result  of  which  has  so  unbalanced  the 
distribution  oi profits  that  in  so  short  a  time  as  the  last  decade 
alone  it  is  apparent  that  "the  rich  have  become  richer  and 
the  poor  poorer."  If  this  is  so,  and  statistics  seem  to  show 
that  it  is,  then  we  all  can  easily  see  in  advance  where  we 
will  land  if  these  conditions  are  allowed  to  continue. 

To  avert  serious  results  and  "call  a  stop,"  so  to  speak,  to  the 
rapidly  accumulating  power  for  evil,  the  Press,  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  in  an  editorial  on  the  labor  question,  said  :  "  There 
is  need  of  a  large,  broad  luork  of  honest  education  in  first 
principles.''  This  is  good  doctrine  and  if  universally  car- 
ried out  the  nation  zoill  be  saved.  The  people  once  being 
fully  awakened  to  a  full  realization  of  danger  ahead  some 
attention  may  be  given  to  a  more  active  promulgation  of 
"first  principles."  But  may  this  not  bring  us  too  near  to 
the  golden  rule,  which  we  fear  would  be  rather  hard  to  en- 
force ?  However,  we  must  not  speak  ironically  when  we 
are  dealing  with  so  serious  a  subject  as  the  one  in  hand. 
Moreover  Ave  would  impress  on  the  minds  of  all  that  laws 
which  cannot  be  enforced  had  better  not  be  enacted  until 
proper  education  will  bring  about  a  condition  of  society  that 
a  majority  can  be  assured  to  support  the  law  so  that  it  can 
be  enforced. 

»T    -   ^  ,.  ,  The  causes  of  disturbance  among 

Not  Complimentary.    -  ,  ,  ,        ,     ^ 

the  people   ma}^  be  traced  to  those 

remote  and  those  more  immediate  in  character,  and  in 
either  case  we  find  that  it  is  not  very  complimentary  to  a 
civilized  and  intelligent  people,  for  it  is  true  that  for  nearly 
a  century  these  causes  have  been  at  work  and  to  some  ex- 
tent have  been  recognized  and  not  corrected.  It  is  admitted 
that  efforts  have  been  made  to  reform  societv,  repeal  those 
laws  which  were  not  in  harmony  and  enact  such  that  are  in 
accordance  with  "first  principles,"  but  the  various  political 
parties  have  in  their  demagogic  hara?iguings  so  hampered 
true  reform,  in  this  direction,  that,  comparatively  considered, 
the  work  ot    the   people   in   popular  education   in   the   true 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA.  2^ 

principles  of  good  government  has  proven  almost  an  entire 
failure. 

We  have  now  reached  a  point  in  our  investigation  which 
makes  it  imperative  that  we  delve  deeper,  in  order  to  be  bet- 
ter prepared  to  stake  out  a  high  road^  which  will  clear  the 
snags  and  breakers  of  social  discord.  Furthermore,  it  is  in- 
cumbent on  us  that  we  search  most  diligently  for  the  vari- 
ous causes  which  have  brought  about  conditions  not  con- 
ducive to  the  highest  standard  of  social  prosperity. 

In  the  previous  pages  we  have  endeavored  to  find  and 
TV.  w  V,  ^A  present  to  our  readers,  in  the  most 
The  Highest  Idea,  comprehensive  manner,  some  of  the 
laws  of  exchange  in  traffic,  and  the  normal  conditions  of  the 
sociological  structure  of  work^  profits  and  the  philosophy  of 
subsisting. 

We  have,  as  far  as  possible,  outlined  consistent  premises 
from  which  to  conduct  a  philosophic  inquiry,  with  a  hope  of 
reaching  a  logical  solution  of  the  great  question  of  the 
limited  rights  of  the  citizen  in  regard  to  just  dealings  one 
with  another,  and  the  most  rational  code  of  legal  and  moral 
regulations  of  the  industrial  art,  in  all  its  bearings,  that 
perfect  harmony,  the  great  desideratum  of  all  peoples,  may 
be  realized,  and  thus  make  this  world  what  ideal  poets  have 
sung  about  it  for  ages,  and  our  forefatJiers  aimed  to  trans- 
mit to  succeeding  generations,  in  their  efforts  to  construct 
a  government  based  on  principles  oi  personal  freedom. 

In  our  examination  of  the  various 
Cause  and  Effect.  ^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^1^ 

we  have,  and  will  endeavor  to  continue,  to  pursue  the  course 
as  laid  down  by  good  philosophic  reasoning,  appertaining  to 
this  subject,  in  dealing  with  cause  arid  effect  of  phenomena 
elsewhere  in  nature.  We  may  then  either  begin  our  study 
wdth  the  effects  and  trace  out  the  cause,  or,  as  far  as  is  pos- 
sible, begin  our  inquiry  with  the  effects  arising  from  causes 
with  which  we  are.  already  familiar. 

What  would  be  considered  consistent  in  all  research  and 
investigation  of  any  question  of  importance  is  first  of  all  to 


30  THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF    AMERICA. 

find  a  correct  basis,  or  premises,  from  which  to  direct  our 
argument.  The  framers  of  our  Constitution  gave  us  the 
foundation  of  institutions  free  from  imperialism  as  far  as 
was  possible  for  them  at  so  early  a  period  in  the  experiment 
of  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  as  far  as  they  had 
light  and  understanding  on  the  normal  co7iditions  of  man. 
It  now  remains  for  us  not  only  to  keep  green  the  old  land- 
marks established  by  them,  but  to  emphasize  those  principles 
and  widen  the  boundary  lines  by  adding  new  truths,  as  we 
may  discover  them,  and  as  necessity  may  demand  it — to  be 
more  vigilant,  which  we  of  necessity  must  be  as  tlie  nation 
grows  to  greatness. 

We  have,  then,  already  before  us  quite  a  broad  platform 
on  which  to  found  a  course  of  rational  investigation,  pre- 
paratory and  educational.  We  have  examined  effects  to 
some  extent,  and  have  also  been  enabled  to  recognize  causes, 
but  now  we  take  a  step  further  and  examine  causes  and 
effects,  with  a  view  of  reconciling  primary  prijiciples  with 
correspondent  effects^  and  thus  we  hope  to  find  additional 
causes,  or  factors,  which  have  been  instrumental  in  bringing 
about  undesirable  conditions  in  our  social  relations  to  finance 
or  business  essential  to  our  subsistence. 

In  our  examination  of  the  subject, 
Actuating  Causes.   ^^,^  ^^^^  ^^^^  actuating  causes  divided 

into  those  having  remote  origin  and  those  more  immediate^ 

Those  immediate  are  far  more  numerous  than  the  remote. 

We  will  treat  of  them  under  their  proper  headings   as 

they   may    present   themselves    while   we    press    onward, 

guided  by  the  handmaid  of  sociological  philosoph}^,  which 

we  hope  will  lead  us  to  a  logical  conclusion  on  which  we  can 

rest  the  case  for  a  just  verdict  from  the  general  public. 

^      .  ,  It    is    plain    that    man3^    sub- 

A  Great  Desideratum.    .■  •  ■  .  y       c  ,^ 

divisions   may   be    made    or   the 

subject  under  consideration,  but  like  all  great  issues,  or 
forsooth,  any  question  or  problem  for  the  people  to  decide^ 
the  more  concise  and  the  more  simple  a  basis  to  which  the 
subject  can  be  brought,  the  less  complicated,  the  more  easy 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OK    AMERICA.  3 1 

it  will  be  to  reach  a  comprehensive  conclusion,  especially  so 
in  the  present  instance. 

There  are  underlying  principles  which,  when  fully  under- 
stood and  comprehended,  enable  us  at  once  to  master  the 
situation,  when  successful  inquiry  will  be  comparatively 
■easy.  One  thing  more  it  will  be  well  to  remember,  and  that 
is  that  we  proceed  somewhat  guardedly  in  our  arguments 
in  order  that  our  logic  may  agree  with  the  premises,  that 
our  nilings  come  within  the  provisions  of  the  boundaries  of 
right.  The  great  desideratum^  then,  most  of  all,  is  to  under- 
stand the  real  cause  of  the  difficulties^  or  social  troubles, 
which  we  are  called  upon  to  reconcile  or  correct. 

,  ^,  .        ^,  In  accordance  with 

Positive  and  Negative  Elements.  x.         ^-  a 

°  our  observation  and 

research  of  the  reiuote  causes  of  the  social  discord,  mani- 
fested in  the  form  of  riots,  strikes  and  the  bugle  caU  of  the 
soldiery  at  times  when  we  are  at  peace  with  all  nations  of 
the  world  (it  is  sad  to  contemplate  such  a  condition),  they 
are  traceable  to  two  primary  factors,  namely  :  the  positive 
and  negative  (aspect).  These  forces  are  too  far  apart  to 
keep  the  circuit  complete.  Capital  and  labor  are  the  posi- 
tive and  negative  forces  in  commerce. 

Allied  to  electricity,  although  recognized  as  separate  and 
distinct  forces,  the  positive  and  negative  polarities  are  so 
strangely  alike  that  scientists  have  been  unable  to  find  any 
difference  in  the  quality  of  electricity  between  the  positive 
and  negative,  only  this,  that  kindred  relations  must  exist 
for  the  manifest  current  to  be  possible,  hence  these  condi- 
tions cannot  be  disturbed — that  is,  the  proper  polarities 
are  separated  and  still  maintain  a  continued  electric  current. 

A  certain  limited  distance  of  the  positive  and  negative 
electric  polarity  is  tolerated,  but  when  this  limit  has  been 
reached,  beyond  which  the  normal  relations  of  the  elements 
necessary  to  produce  electric  current  becoming  too  far  sepa- 
rated, straightway  the  result  is  disappointing. 

Here  we  have  another  striking  exemplification  of  the 
laws  of  force  in  nature  and,  hence,  when  we  consider  the 


32  THE   WAGE-WORK KRS    OF    AMERICA. 

Striking  analogy  that  exists  between  those  elements  as  actu- 
ating principles  giving  force  and  activit}''  to  the  operations 
of  our  entire  social  system  we  have  before  us  the  beginning 
and  end  of  what  we  are  in  search 
Many  Interruptions.   ^^^  ^  ^^^-^.^.^  ^^^^  negative  polarity, 

a  bearing,  so  to  speak  (/o  coiuparc) ;  the  operations  of  capital 
and  labor.  When  the  circuit  is  complete  the  working  power 
goes  on  uninterrupted.  We  are  safe  to  present  this  com- 
parison ;  it  applies  fittingly.  When  the  circuit  is  broken 
we  have  an  illustration  of  the  remote  cause  of  the  inhar- 
mony  existing  in  the  industrial  ranks  of  our  social  system, 
for  in  exact  ratio  as  these  two  forces,  capital  and  labor 
(positive  and  negative),  become  separated  their  power  weak- 
ens— that  is  to  sa}',  becomes  less  and  less  operative.'^' 

A  certain  distance  (a  limit)  will  be  tolerated,  though  many 
interruptions  and  shocks  of  greater  or  lesser  severity  to  the 
body  politic  may  be  experienced,  but  when  this  separating 
distance  is  carried  too  far,  that  is,  beyond  a  certain  boun- 
dary line,  the  circuit  once  broken  becomes  impractical. 
Capital  alone,  labor  alone,  can  do  but  little,  if  anything — 
become  a  total  failure  as  a  factor  in  perpetuating  commer- 
cial integrity. 

The  cause  of  our  difficult}'  is 
Does  Not  Work  Well.  ^^^^^^^  discovered.  The  dis- 
tance between  capital  and  labor  is  too  great  to  luork  zuell,  to 
blend  in  one  integral  power,  in  conducting  the  industrial 


*Like  the  qualities  of  positive  and  negative,  electricity,  which 
scientists  have  been  unable  to  define  as  absolute,  separate,  entities 
and  forces,  so  statesmen  and  financial  philosophers  have  been  unsuccess- 
ful in  defining  the  exact  difference,  in  an  elementary  sense,  in  the 
quality,  or  personality,  of  the  two  great  factors  of  capital  and  labor,  in 
the  organization  of  the  wonderfully  intricate  social  system  which  has  its 
primary  root  in  many  starting  points,  and  yet  in  reality  but  the  one, 
which  we  denominate  necessity ;  and  this  arises  out  of  the  fact  oi  living 
—that  is,  means  of  subsisting,  clothing,  habitation  and  the  fiiculty  of 
acquisitiveness  that  leads  to  ownership  ;  and  these  altogether  enter 
into  the  organization  of  one  grand  social  system,  in  all  of  which  capital 
and  labor  lead  the  van  and  regulates  them  all. 


A.  "WILFORD,  HALL,  Ph.D.,  LL.  D. 


Plate  III-For  s'ietch  see  page  219. 


THE  WAGE-WORKERS   OF   AMERICA.  33 

interests  of  the  nation,  especially  in  a  country  where  per- 
sonal liberty,  peace  and  happmess  are  the  ultimate  objects  of 
its  government. 

The    fundamental 
Principles  of  Human  Happiness.   ^^-^^^^^^^^   ^f  j,,,,nan 

happiness,  briefly  stated,  is  a  condition  wherein  we  are  satis- 
fied with  self,  that  is,  a  perfect  agreement  of  one's  own  per- 
sonal powers  or  faculties,  all  of  which  implies  perfect 
harmony  with  ourselves  and  our  environment.  Such  a  state 
of  existence  may  properly  be  put  down  as  a  normal  life,  and 
the  greatest  study  of  mankind  is  to  learn  how  to  attain  to 
and  appreciate  what  unquestionably  will  bring  happiness  to- 
all  who  can  reach  that  point  of  harmony  with  self  and 
surroundings. 

It  will  be  evident,  then,  that 
When  in  Perfect  Order.    .^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^  elements  which 

enter  into  component  parts,  to  maintain  a  normal  state  or 
condition  of  life,  are  withheld,  the  sequence  will  be  disturb- 
ance of  the  harmony,  if  not  destruction.  The  moment  the 
principles  of  accordant  relations  are  ignored  trouble  is  at 
hand.  Like  electricity,  when  the  elements  that  produce 
it  are  in  perfect  order,  it  may  be  operative,  but  the  very 
opposite  will  be  the  result  should  even  a  single  one  of  the 
elements  be  removed.''' 

According  to  our  observation,  capital  in  this  country  is 
not  in  harmony  with  itself,  as  we  shall  be  able  to  demon- 
strate in  more  instances  than  one,  neither  is  it  in  harmony 
with  its  compeer,  labor.  Then,  if  capital  is  not  in  harmony 
with  itself,  certainly  it  cannot  be  in  its  relations — in  its; 
workings  as  a  factor  in  social  matters.  We  will  also 
observe  here  that  labor  is  not  in  proximity  sufficiently  to 
blend  with  the  interests  of  capital,  and  thereby  further  its 


'^  We  treat  of  the  improper  distribution  of  the  profits  of  capital  in 
another  part  of  this  work,  and  show  its  bad  effects  on  the  communitj% 
and  thus  carry  out  the  comparison  of  the  congested  condition  or  un- 
natural accumulation  of  wealth,  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  as  a  source  of 
trouble. 


34  THE   WAGE-WORKERS    OF   AMERICA. 

own  interests.     The  distance  is  too  great  between  tlie  points 

of  perfect   reciprocal    unity  of  the  positive  and  negative 

inipnlses  of  capital  and  labor,  most  needful  in  forwarding 

those  elements  that  will  give  to  a  nation  assured  success — 

that  is,  a  health}'  commerce. 

^,       T  .  r  T^-rr  Whatcvcr,  then,  may  be  the 

The  Line  of  Difference.  ,        ^,     •         y-  I       _^^ 

remote  or  the  immediate  causes 

of  separating  these  forces,  or  even  widening  the  distance 
between  them,  must  be  removed  in  order  to  avert  still 
greater  disruption  and  restore  concordance  among  those 
powers  whose  function  is  to  make  happy  homes  and  a  happy 
nation. 

We  may  mention  a  leading  factor,  in  the  remote  sense,  of 
disturbance  in  our  social  ranks,  which  has  been  at  work, 
perhaps,  for  centuries,  but  encroaching  more  during  the  last 
half  century  than  any  other  tinie^  which  we  will  denomi- 
nate distinction.  For  some  reason  a  persoji  of  leisure  has 
always  been  a  favorite  in  society-,  especially  those  who  do 
not  perform  manual  lalnir  to  acquire  a  subsistence.  The 
so-called  capitalists^  or  the  rich,  somehow  take  the  lead  in 
drawing  a  line  of  social  distinction  between  those  who  em- 
ploy and  the  employed.  This  line,  it  seems,  is  being  more 
sharply  drawn  each  year,  and  separates  that  interest  that 
all  of  us  should  have  in  the  welfare  of  our  neighbors. 

^      ,    , .  It  was  truly  said  by  a  distinguished  thinker 

Evolution,     r  AT       A-    1     •        1    .  1     • 

oi  JNew   \  ork,   in   a  lecture  on  evolution  a  few 

years  ago,  that  "Society  is  organized  much  like  a  house — 

having  a  bottoin^  or  a  foundation,  and  a  top.''     The  general 

law  of  evolution  applies  to  the  bottom  as  well  as  to  the  top. 

Supposing,  now,  the  top  of  society,  which  is  almost  always 

understood  as  that    class  which  has   wealth,  and  who  can 

thereby  be  helped   on    materially  much  better  than  those 

who  represent  the   bottom   of  society,  the  poorer  class,  and 

by  tliese  helps  grow  much  faster  (evolute)  in  intellect   and 

refinement.     Suppose  we  say  by  and  by  the   top  will  leave 

tlie  bottom  so  far  behind  and  the  distance  will   be  so  great 

between  them,  the  bottom  will  fall  out  of  societ}-  and  the  en- 


THE   WAGE-WORKERS   OF   A^IERICA.  35 

tire  social  structure  tumble  into  ruin.  This  brings  to  our 
mind  the  fear  that  those  who  have  been  favored  by  fortune,  by- 
circumstances  which  have  enabled  them  to  conserve  the 
profits  of  their  labor  so  that  in  every  way  they  can  take  ad- 
vantage of  environment  to  lift  themselves  upward  rapidly 
and  thus  help  on  nature's  effort  in  accord  with  the  law  of 
evolution,  still,  with  all  this,  forget  that  there  are  others  in 
the  world,  human  kindred,  who  are  on  the  same  road  and 
must  obey  the  same  law  of  evolution,  but  are  not  as  happily 
circumstanced,  and  must  move  slow  and  should  be  helped  on, 
and  were  it  not  good  philosophy  for  those  on  top  to  remem- 
ber that  the  closer  all  of  us  keep  together  the  more  easy  will 
we  conquer  and  overcome  obstacles  in  the  way  of  progress  ? 

,  ^  Should  the  bottom  fall  out  of 

The  Top  and  Bottom.   ^^^.^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^.^  ^^^  ^^p  ^^P 

Is  it  not  plain,  then,  that  the  failures  and  the  many  social 
wr^Q^is  founder  on  the  rock  of  social  distinction  ?  The  line 
of  distinction  has  been  too  sharply  drawn.  The  principle 
of  differentiation  exists  everywhere  in  nature  and  consti- 
tutes what  may  be  termed  education. 

Now  if  the  American  people  desire,  and  we  believe  they 
■do,  to  steadily  grow  and  keep  up  with  the  star  of  enterprise 
and  the  work  of  greatness,  growing  better,  morally  and 
civilly,  gaining  in  power  and  influence,  then  we  must  keep 
iogetJier  and  not  allow  the  top  of  society  to  get  too  far  away 
from  the  bottom,  and  thus  obviate  social  disruptions. 

Those  people  Avho  b}'  the  law  of 
The  Intermediate.  ^^^^^^^^^  selection  occupy  the  interme- 
diate station  of  societ}^  (the  same  natural  law  having  placed 
those  in  their  respective  places  who  are  at  the  top  or  bottom, 
so  to  speak),  are  going  onward — occupying  the  intermediate. 
The  two  points  at  either  end  are  the  factors  of  trouble  or  dis- 
cordance, and  require  the  greatest  consideration  on  our  part. 
Society  may  be  compared  to  the  departments  or  compart- 
ments of  our  fine  ocean  steamers.  The  passengers  occupy 
the  upper,  middle  and  lower  decks,  or  first,  second  and  third 
-class.     Or  again  the  cabin  or  saloon — the  intermediate  and 


3t)  THE    WAGE-WORKRRS    OF    AMERICA. 

the  Steerage.  Whatever  di\ision  of  society  we  ma}'  make, 
no  matter  what  station  in  life  any  of  us  may  occup}',  perfect 
freedom  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  within  the  limitations 
prescribed  b}'  nature,  should  be  accorded  to  all  men.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  happiness  that  can  come  to  mankind  is  the 
pursuit  thereof 

One  seeks  happiness  in  trying  to  become  rich — to  amass 
great  wealth.  Another  finds  happiness  in  trying  by  every 
means  to  deprive  the  wealthy  of  that  which  he  has  gained. 
Another  chooses  the  roiite  to  vagrancy.  Another,  wiser 
than  all,  finds  greatest  happiness  in  seeking  to  curb  inordi- 
nate desires,  and  is  satisfied  with  what  may  come  to  him 
through  legitimate  channels  in  business,  and  thus  gets  on 
well  in  the  world. 

After  all  the  points  have  been  looked  over, 
and  after  all  the  /;/jand  outs  of  this  great  social 
problem  of  labor  and  capital  have  been  studied,  that  element 
which  drifts  away  from  the  rest  is  that  which  brings  trouble. 
But  little  use  can  be  made  of  the  driftwood  of  a  swollen 
stream.  Overcrowded  condition  of  the  departments  in  the 
industrial  S3"stem  furnish  recruits  which  make  up  the  ranks 
of  the  driftimr  clement,  a  sort  of  prodigal  people,  who  must 
in  some  wa\'  be  induced  to  return  to  the  fold  and  home  from 
which  they  have  wandered.  Undivided  efforts  will  be  re- 
quired to  provide  occupation  ;  institute  moral  and  political 
reform  ;  ciz'ic  education,  and  just  legal  regulation  of  dis- 
putes, so  that  a  perfect  reconciliation  may  be  brought  about, 
and  that  all  of  us  ina^^  understand  what  is  implied  in  what 
we  define  to  be  the  normal  relation  of  the  citizen,  with  the 
law  of  integrity,  to  the  body  politic. 


CORPORATIONS  AND  WflGE=WORKERS, 


Ownership;  WeU-EstablisJicd  Datas ;  Organizations;  Com- 
panies; Trusts ;  Pools;  Monopolies ;  Competitive  Labor ; 
Poverty^  the  Destructio7t  of  the  Poor;  Labor  Bureaus ; 
Scale  of  Prices;  Organized  Labor ;  How  the  Evil  of 
Strikes  May  be  Averted,  etc. 


"  Go  tame  the  wild  torrent,  or  stem  with  a  straw, 

The  proud  surges  that  sweep  o'er  the  sands  that  confined  them, 

But  presume  not  again  to  give  freemen  a  law. 

Or  think  with  the  chains  they  have  broken,  to  bind  them." 

]\Iuch  lias  been  said  and  written  on  tlie 
Ownership.  ^^^^^^^  ^f  ownership  by  able  statesmen,  but 
whether  it  has  been  the  logical  conclusion  of  scientific  and 
honest  research  or  not,  the  dominant  idea,  as  we  find  it 
among  the  people,  is  still  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  "get 
all  he  can."  To  tone  it  down  a  little,  the  same  idea  is  ex- 
pressed in  other  words,  namely:  that  "all  peoples  have  a 
right  to  accumulate  all  the  legitimate  wealth  that  lie  in 
their  power." 

This  is  a  common  saying,  and  it  seems  to  be  the  popular 
idea.  In  our  present  undertaking  we  will  not  contend  iox 
anything  more  than  this  :  that  men  nia}^  have  an  eqiial 
cha7ice,  under  the  law,  to  make  all  the  money  they  can,  and 
bring  capital^  in  respect  to  profit-making,  on  equal  footing 
with  labor. 

As  we  enter  upon  the  investigation  of  ownership,  several 
points  present  themselves  for  more  than  a  mere  superficial 
consideration.  In  the  first  place  let  us  examine  the  actua- 
ting principles  which  give  rise  to  a  desire  for  possession. 
There  seems  to  exist  in  all  men  a  ruling  principle  which 
urges  them  on  to  acquire  and  own  propert}'.  In  the  next 
place  we  will  endeavor  to  outline  the  normal  scope  for  the 


38  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

exercise  of  these  powers  or  inclinations  ;  that  is  to  say,  find 
the  point  where  legal  interference,  or  legal  regnlation, 
should  begin.  For  it  will  be  self  evident,  for  many  reasons, 
that  it  is  proper  and  necessar}^,  for  man's  happiness,  to 
regulate  b}^  law  those  conditions,  whose  tendencies  are  to 
impose  on  the  rights  of  others. 

...  The  disposition  of  acquiring  something  you 

Acquisition.  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^,^^  .  ^^  ^^^^  property,  whether 

you  earn  it  or  not,  is  traceable  to  the  faculty  which  gives  to 
man  the  love  of  gain.  This,  doubtless,  begins  with  a  primary 
law  of  self-preservation — a  ph3^siological  necessity.  The 
philosophy  of  subsisting  is  the  first  and  most  important 
study  of  the  eutire  sociological  system,  for  the  reason  that 
the  first  and,  perhaps,  the  last,  act  of  life,  is  to  support  the 
vital  forces  of  existing. 

The  most  important  point  of  all  with  most  men  is,  in 
some  way,  so  to  conserve  their  own  resources  that  a  subsist- 
ence is  assured  to  them,  and,  withal,  to  obtain  it  in  the 
most  easy  manner  possible.  These  powers  are  innate.^  and 
are  comprehended  under  the  caption  of  the  faculty  of  ac- 
quisition.^ or  acquisitiveness^  the  function  or  mission  of  which 
is  to  direct  man's  capabilities  in  the  pursuit  of  acquiring  a 
maintenance,  and  also  to  find  ways  and  means  of  accumu- 
lating property — even  to  possess  great  wealth.  The  love  of 
attaining  propertj^,  or  possessions,  seems  as  natural  almost 
as  life  itself ;  for  men  fight  nearly  as  hard  for  their  posses- 
sions as  for  their  lives. 

The  direction  which  this  faculty  will 
Penuriousness.  ^^^^  depends  largely  upon  the  other 
faculties  in  their  combination,  developed  in  each  individual. 
In  the  tropics,  where  food  grows  almost  entirely  spontan- 
eously, this  faculty  is  not  very  strongly  developed  ;  still  it 
is  sufficiently  so,  even  among  the  Fiji  Islanders,  the  lowest 
in  this  scale,  to  cause  wars  between  the  different  tribes.  In 
this  country  it  forms  largely  the, actuating  principle  of  our 
great  commercial  system  ;  and  when  not  under  proper  con- 
trol, individuals  become  very  grasping^   and    in   many  in- 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGK-WORKERS.  39 

stances  amass  not  only  great  fortunes,  but  do  so  in  a  dis- 
honest way. 

In  and  of  itself  tliis  faculty  is  blind  ;  that  is,  it  is  void  of 
reason  and  moral  responsibilit3\  Its  only  object  in  life  is 
gain.  Unless  it  is  restrained  by  the  moral  and  reasoning 
powers,  it  knows  no  limit.  For  there  are  persons  whose 
moral  faculties  are  weak,  and  in  such  instances  legal  enact- 
ments may  have  to  be  invoked  to  assist  them  to  keep 
within  proper  bounds. 

But  when  the  faculty  is  brought  under  proper  restraint, 
however  active  and  strong  it  ma}^  be,  and  is  governed  by 
the  higher  judgment  attained  by  the  moral  faculties,  it 
makes  men  frugal  and  economical  with  a  will  to  make 
''''  little  go  far^''  and  give,  withal,  a  feeling  of  satisfaction., 
which,  after  all,  is  the  essential  point  to  be  attained  to  in- 
sure human  happiness.  However,  as  before  remarked,  un- 
less this  faculty  is  brought  under  proper  restraint,  it  creates 
a  desire  for  more  and  more  of  this  world's  goods  without  a 
regard  to  consequences. 

^        >        .  ,       ^.    ,  ^  ^  ,  All    of    the 

Trespassing  on  the  Rights  of  Others.  f      1. 

ties  of  the  human  mind  may  be  the  servants  of  the  one 
faculty  of  acquisitiveness.^  and  thus  concentrate  all  of  man's 
capabilities  for  the  sole  purpose  of  making  money — accumu- 
late property — as  in  the  case  of  the  miser.  Then,  under 
such  circumstances,  those  who  are  not  on  their  guard  are 
liable  to  overdo  this  work  of  money-getting,  and,  before  they 
are  aware,  find  themselves  trespassing  on  the  rights  of 
others,  and  thereby  become  subjects  of  legal  regulation. 

.  T       f       T:7f  We  have  now  before  us,  though 

'  *   briefly  stated,  datas  which  furnish 

a  correct  starting  point  for  further  inquiry  into  the  evil 
effects  oi pejiuriousness.  The  desire  to  possess  or  own  prop- 
erty we  have  successfully  traced  to  an  inherent  faculty  with 
which  all  men  are  endowed,  that  is,  the  common  nature  of 
man  to  own.,  to  be  pozuer/nl,   to  rnle.     We  have  shown  the 


40  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

primarj^  function  of  this  facult}^  and  its  sociological  influ- 
ence upon  societ}'. 

The  millions  are  all  bent  in  the  same  direction,  and  every- 
one exerts  his  best  talent  in  the  race  for  supremac}^  Un- 
der existing  circumstances  zs  it  not  surprising  that  not 
more  difficulties  arise,  where  there  are  so  many  scrambling 
for  gain,  and  comparatively  so  few  opportunities  ?  Those 
performing  ordinary  bodily  labor  start  out  single-handed. 
Those  who  have  learned  a  special  occupation  seek  the  best 
positions  possible.  In  traffic  ever}"  device  is  resorted  to  to 
acquire  a  subsistence,  and  besides  to  gain  a  competency, 
and,  if  possible,  riches.  The  procession,  moving  in  solid 
phalanx,  under  the  command  of  acquisitiveness,  from  the 
liusbandman  to  the  capitalist,  is  simply  great.  Mau}^  with 
a  few  hundred  dollars  start  in  business  for  themselves,  and, 
with  good  management,  succeed  fairly  well,  as  far  as  their 
^mall  capital  enables  them  to  go. 

Certain  commodity  requires  expensive  machinery  to 
manufacture  it.  A  number  of  men  have  each  a  small  capi- 
tal. Singl}^  neither  has  enough  to  start  such  an  institu- 
tion, so  the}^  join  forces  and  unite  what  capital  the}"  have 
and  form  what  is  denominated  a  company.  Any  kind  of 
business  may  be  conducted  on  a  more  extensive  plan  by 
combining  capital,  and  thus  increase  its  power  both  in  con- 
troling  the  market  as  well  as  wages.'*' 

We  question,  however,  the  moral  right  to  do  so,  though 
the  legal  right  is  admitted.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that 
combinations  possess  advantages  not  possibly  attained  by 
men  with  small  or  limited  means.  Competition  is  con- 
trolled, more  or  less,  by  well-organized  companies,  and, 
while  this  is  a  fact,  there  must  come  to  our  minds  another 
fact,  that  business  men  with  moderate  means,  who  are  not 
so  fortunate  as  to  get  into  the  ring  with  the  combines,  can, 
not  compete  with  them  in  the  markets,  are  crowded  out, 

*This  subject  is  treated  of  more  extensivelj''  under  the  head  of  "  Coni- 
binatioyii"  to  which  the  reader  is  respectfully  referred  for  a  full  eluci- 
dation. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  4I 

and  tliey  must  go  to  the  wall.  No  one  can  fail  to  see  in- 
justice here.  Yet  a  fellow  man  is  as  much  a  member  of  the 
human  family  as  those  who  form  into  great  corporations. 
The  weak,  in  this  respect,  fail  only  on  account  of  unequal 
chance,  not  that  they  are  not  shrewd  managers,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  unfair  competition  with  which  they  have  to 
•contend,  which  makes  failure  almost  inevitable. 

Combination  of  capital  cannot  benefit  the  general  public, 
for,  unless  a  fair  competition,  governed  by  supply  and  de- 
mand, is  allowed  to  regulate  the  markets,  the  benefit  must 
be  one  sided;  the  corporations  will  make  all  the  profit. 

Millions  may  be   made  by 
In  the  End  Where  is  It  ?  ^  ^^  ^  ^^    combinations.      T  h  e 

money  is  in  the  country.  The  nation  has  materially  in- 
creased in  wealth.  But  might  it  not  be  far  better  for  a  hun- 
dred or  a  thousand  men,  men  with  families,  to  make  a  mil- 
lion of  dollars,  than  for  a  few^  to  make  it,  and,  by  arbitrary 
means,  shut  out  their  fellow  citizen  from  an  unequal  chance 
in  the  markets,  and  make  mere  wage-earners  of  many  who 
with  an  innate  pride  and  ambition  might  be  their  own  mas- 
ters, break  down  altogether  and  become  mendicants  ? 

We  do  not  hesitate,  then,  after  a  careful  survey  of  the 
question  we  have  raised  regarding  combinations,  to  take  the 
ground  that  a  legal  charter  should  be  granted  only  to  create 
•combinations  in  the  case,  as  stated  before,  w^here  a  very 
large  capital  is  necessary  to  secure  machinery  and  other 
"heavy  investments  before  the  business  can  be  started  at  all 
— as  in  our  rolling  mills  and  other  similar  institutions 
which  might  be  mentioned.  But  we  have  sufficient  ex- 
^emplification  to  enable  all  of  us  to  think  intelligently  of  the 
•difference  we  make  between  an  ordinary  company  in  a 
husiness  (which  anyone  with  even  limited  means  can  enter 
-upon)  and  a  combine  requiring  a  large  capital,  by  reason  of 
the  vastness  of  the  enterprise  and  the  character  of  the  com- 
modity manufactured;  as  in  the  case  of  a  rolling  mill  or 
immense  smelting  works,  glass  works,  cotton  factories,  etc. 


42  CORPORATIONS  AND   WAGE-WORKERS. 

But  we  ask  pardon  for  this  digression,  as  this  subject 
will  be  taken  up  again  further  on  in  tlie  course  of  our  de- 
liberation. 

We  have  now  in  our  mind  what 
A  Stock  Company,  ^^j^gtitutes  a  business  conducted  by 
individuals  taking  their  chances  in  the  markets  of  the  world 
unprotected  by  any  organized  power  that  may  aid  them. 
We  have  also  an  idea,  from  what  has  been  stated,  what  con- 
stitutes a  company ;  so  let  us  pass  on  and  consider  other 
forms  of  business  firms  with  which  we  will  have  more  to  do 
in  solving  the  question  of  labor  and  capital  than  any  other. 

Where  a  company  is  organized  by  a  division  of  shares, 
and  these  shares  are  held  by  anyone  who  maybe  able  to- 
invest  to  the  extent  of  one  or  more  shares,  the  capital  of  a 
concern  thus  raised  is  known  as  a  stock  company,  either 
limited  or  unlimited,  as  the  case  may  be  ;  and  the  holders 
of  these  shares  are  said  to  be  stock-holders,  for  whose  bene- 
fit a  dividend  is  declared  either  semi-annually  or  annually. 

Now,  in  order 
What  Constitutes  a  Trust  Company.  ^^   ^^^^^^    ^^.^^^ 

profits,  a  number  of  these  companies  (though  they  may  be 
located  in  different  towns  or  cities)  combine  for  the  purpose 
of  controling  the  markets,  to  raise  the  price  on  whatever 
their  commodity  may  be  which  they  manufacture,  and  thus- 
keep  prices  up,  as  well  as  to  regulate  the  price  of  labor. 
This  is  called  a  trust  company. 

The  wage-earners  who  are  employed  in  these  institutions 
are  as  much  at  their  mercy  in  regard  to  the  price  of  wages 
as  on  the  other  hand  the  public  is  at  their  mercy  regarding 
the  price  of  the  commodity  they  manufacture.  Then  these 
companies,  some  of  them,  at  times  form  what  is  known  in 
business  circles  as  pools.  For  example,  two  or  more  busi- 
ness concerns  work  to  each  other's  interest  in  getting  trade 
away  from  others  wlio  are  in  the  same  business,  but  are  not 
in  the  ring,  as  it  is  termed.  Where  it  is  practical  by  thus 
creating  an  advantage  over  others,  niucli  uKniey  is  made,, 
and  serious  failures  have  resulted  to  those  against  whom 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  43 

pools  have  been  organized.  The  profits  are  divided  pro 
rata  among  those  in  the  pools  who  are  reaping  a  benefit 
from  snch  an  arrangement. 

Where  a  person  has  the  sole  power  of  vend- 
Monopoly.  -^^^^  ^^^  species  of  goods,  or  mannfactnres  a 
commodity  no  one  else  can,  or  has  the  right  to  handle,  such 
a  one,  it  is  said,  has  a  monopoly.  Competition  destroys 
monopoly.  The  more  competition  is  weakened  the  nearer 
will  you  be  to  a  monopol\^  To  accomplish  this,  companies, 
trusts,  combines  of  every  degree  of  power,  are  organized  to 
monopolize  the  trade,  and  thus  make  a  greater  profit  than 
where  prices  are  regulated  by  competition.  Thus  we  may 
have  at  once,  in  these  various  combinations,  not  alone  a 
company^  but  trusts^  monopolies^  pools,  and  when  well  or- 
ganized and  in  good  working  condition  can  almost  entirely 
control  the  markets  and  the  price  of  labor  as  well. 

After  what  has  been  said  on  this  particular  subject  of 
combinations,  it  needs  no  further  argument  to  show  that 
the  consumer  pays  the  cost  and  labor  loses  a  just  profit. 

_,  The  only  redress  the  people 

A  Well-Concerted  Plot.  ^^^.^  j^  J^^^  ^^^.^^  l^  l^_ 

frage,  electing  men  who  will  make  laws  to  regulate  or 
abolish  these  evils.  The  evil  is  somewhat  modified  when 
these  institutions  fail  to  agree  on  a  well-concerted  plot  or 
plan.  A  so-called  protection  tariffs  improperly  levied,  will 
foster  and  give  aid  to  the  very  kind  of  institutions  we  have 
portrayed.*  Moreover  it  will  fill  up  the  country  with  cor- 
porations, which  may  flourish  for  a  while,  only,  however, 
to  react ;  and  those  who  conducted  them  will  gravitate  to 
their  proper  places  in  the  social  system,  leaving  sad  remem- 
brances behind  them  for  a  disappointed  public  to  profit  by 
in  future. 

The  ingeniously-wrought  schemes    on  the  part  of  the 
capitalists   enable   them    to    accomplish,    first,    to    cripple 

*The  reader  is  here  referred  to  another  part  of  this  work  for  a  philo- 
sophic view  of  the  "  tariff  question." 


4:j  CORrORATlONS    AND    WAGP- ^'^'ORKRRS. 

and  avoid  competition  ;  and,  second,  to  rednce  waQ^cs  ;  for 
they  well  nnderstand  that  this  is  a  sure  wa}'  to  make  money, 
and  make  it  easy.  Capital,  naturally  the  compeer  of  labor, 
is  still  really  the  most  powerful  in  commerce,  but  for  that 
very  reason  it  should  be  willino:  to  take  its  chances  on  equal 
footing  with  labor  in  all  schemes  of  business. 

Capital,  capable  and  strong  in  itself,  as  it  is,  should  seek 
to  organize  and  combine  its  forces  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing to  its  shn'iic,  not  a  foe,  but  a  quondam  friend,  without 
whom  at  last  it  will  be  compelled  to  surrender  the  battle 
for  gain. 

Think  of  the  effects  it  must  have  on  the  ultimate  pros- 
perity of  the  country. 

When,  in  addition  to  being  al- 
Ultimate  Prosperity.  ^.^^^^  ^^^^^^  organized,  as  we   have 

previously  shown,  capital,  aided  by  special  legislation, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  can  it  be 'otherwise  than  that 
by  all  these  advantages  it  must  make  rapid  and  great  gain? 

Thus  capital,  operated  under  advantages  not  given  to  the 
wage-earners,  who,  unavoidably  must  join  to  make  either 
available  in  the  industrial  art,  will  far  exceed  labor  in 
profits,  and  if  permitted  to  go  on  and  accumulate  wealth, 
■and,  of  course,  pozver^  any  country,  under  such  circumstan- 
<:es,  will  fill  up  with  two  classes,'^'  either  of  which  is  an  in- 
justice to  the  people  and  a  hindrance  to  the  progress  of  the 
best  and  fittest  element  of  civilization. 

These  two  classes  we  denominate  paupers  and  million- 
aires. The  former  are  mendicants  on  the  charit}^  of  the 
people,  the  majority  of  who  are  economical,  subsisting  on 
a,  narrow  margin,  while  they  still  have  an  open  hand  for  a 
fellow  being  in  need  ;  and  the  latter  is  a  SJiylock^  draining 
the  pockets  of  the  honest,  industrious  classes,  and  thus  both 


*  On  page  36  we  treat  of  a  driftiui^  clcwcnt,  and  here  we  speak  of  two 
classes,  which  are  at  either  end  of  society,  who  must  not  be  permitted 
to  drift  too  far  away  from  "  first  principles  "  or  the  government  will 
go  to  pieces. 


CORPORATIONS   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  45 

mendicants  and  millionaires  are  a  drain  on  society,  because 
they  never  give  back  an  equivalent  for  what  they  receive.  * 
Neither  of  these  two  classes  work,  and 
Neither  Work.  ^^.^^^  ^^^^  subsist  on  the  people,  for  one 
who  does  not  produce  an  equivalent  to  the  cost  of  living  is 
consuming  the  same  from  a  certain  reserve  fund,  which 
must  sooner  or  later  be  exhausted  unless  replenished  by 
profits  of  some  sort.  If  it  takes  a  certain  number  of  per- 
sons to  perform  a  given  amount  of  work,  restricted  to  the 
proper  capacit}^,  making  limitations  from  the  standards  of 
health,  justice,  profits,  etc.,  these  being  considered,  then 
suppose  A  or  B  fall  out  of  line,  the  work  must,  however,  go 
on  with  the  task  imposed  on  each  individually,  and  if  A  and 
B  fail  to  perform  their  allotted  part  of  the  work,  that  por- 
tion must  be  assumed  by  the  remainder  of  the  co-workmen, 
and  thus  the  burden  of  labor  and  responsibility  would  be 
increased  for  the  rest. 

This  will  be  the  natural  result  if  A  and  B  do  not  work, 
and  work^  as  we  have  elsewhere  shown,  means  labor  that 
produces  something,  not  to  draw  upon  a  reser\^e,  for  this 
must  eventually  end  in  bankruptcy.  Life  itself  to  be  nor- 
mal must  maintain  a  reserve.  As  soon  as  by  the  active 
operation  of  living  the  reserve  of  the  life  forces  are  drawn 
upon,  straightway  longevity  becomes  shortened.  So  it  is  in 
regard  to  capital  in  carrying  on  business.  So  long  as  a 
profit  is  made  the  solvency  is  assured.  This  is  the  first 
point  a  good  business  man  will  look  after.  As  a  rule  capi- 
talists are  unwilling  to  invest  their  money  unless  there  is  a 
prospect  of  a  profit.  .  Then  why  should  not  labor  figure 
from  the  same  premises  ?     The  wage-worker  has  as  good  a 

'^-  We  would  here  refer  our  readers  to  pages  lo,  ii,  12,  where  we  de- 
fine "  Capital,  its  proper  place  and  use  ;"  also  the  rich  and  the  "  Cap- 
italist," for  we  wish  to  be  properly  understood.  The  millionaires, 
made  in  the  natural  course  of  business  conducted  on  equitable  prin- 
ciples, differ  widely  from  those  who  make  their  millions  by  the  help  of 
favoritism,  organized  corporations,  pools,  trusts,  monopolies,  etc. 
The  former  builds  up  wiih  the  people,  the  latter  on  the  people. 


46  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

riglit  to  demand  a  profit  as  tlie  capitalist.  That  is,  we  mean 
a  profit  over  and  above  what  it  costs  to  live.  However  it 
may  be,  both  the  capitalist  and  the  laborer  are  entitled  to 
a  profit  if  work  is  performed.  JMoreover,  they  are  interested 
in  each  other's  prosperity,  so  that  in  neither  case  the  reserve 
may  be  drawn  on,  or  rather  should  be  added  to  than 
weakened. 

The  absolutely  poor  are  not  by  anj^  means  the  most  dan- 
gerous class.  They  have  comparatively  little  power  or  in- 
fluence ;  they  simply  consume.  But  the  other  class,  the 
Shylock,  by  nefarious  management,  furnish  recruits  for  the 
pauper  ranks,  and  otherwise  cause  many  unpleasant  condi- 
tions and  contentions  among  those  who  naturally  understand 
and  feel  the  injustice  of  their  operations. 

MONEY-MAKING  A  MONO-MANIA  WITH  SOME  PEOPLE;  EDU- 
CATING THE  FACULTIES  ;  DISSATISFIED  CAPITALISTS  ; 
WHERE  LEGAL  RULINGS  SHOULD  BEGIN  ;  LEGAL  AND 
MORAL  LIMITATIONS  ;  IRREFUTABLE  POINTS  ON  THE 
LABOR   PROBLEM,  ETC. 

^  ,  .  ,       ^        , . .  Education  in  the  unquali- 

Educating  the  Faculties,   r   -,  ^.        u      ,. 

^  fied  sense  means  to  cultivate 

and  strengthen  human  capabilities.  Proper  education 
means  to  cultivate  the  weak  faculties  and  restrain  those 
which  are  too  active.  To  be  well  educated  is  a  rare  accom- 
plishment. Such  an  attainment  is  onl}-  valuable  when  all  the 
faculties  are  equally  developed.  It  is  far  better  for  a  person 
to  possess  only  mediocrity  and  be  evenly  developed  than  to 
force  a  few  of  the  faculties  to  the  extreme  limit  while  other 
faculties  remain  abnormally  weak.  This  causes  an  unbal- 
anced condition  of  the  mind,  makes  a  person  eccentric,  often 
assuming  the  nature  of  a  vwno-mania  and  in  man}'-  in- 
stances ends  in  crime.  We  have  such  a  condition  in  the 
mendicant,  who  lacks  in  self-pride  and  who  has  but  little 
desire  for  worldly  possessions  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
disposition  manifests  itself  in  an  uncontrolable  desire  to 
hoard  money.     In  the  former  case  this  facultj^  is  weak  from 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  47 

neglect  of  use  ;  in  the  latter  instance  it  is  too  active  from 
the  momentum  it  has  received  by  nndue  exercise  or  over- 
work in  money-getting. 

The   normal   exercise   of 
A  Good  Civil  Government,  ^jj  ^j_^  f^^^,,^;^^  ^^.^  ^^,,j^. 

cive  to  happiness,  and  especiall}^  so  long  as  they  work  in 
liarmony  with  each  other  the  prodnct  will  be  satisfying, 
but  the  moment  the  line  oC  limitation  of  moral  action^  estab- 
lished b}'  nature,  is  passed,  the  point  in  a  man's  life  is 
reached  where  he  is  liable  to  become  a  subject  of  legislation, 
for  at  the  very  point  or  act  where  the  unwritten  law  of  right 
is  violated  the  written  law  must  assume  the  reign,  or  else  "law 
and  order"  are  not  the  dominant  principles  of  good  civil 
^Wernment. 

So  long  as  there  is  a  cordial  relation  between  capital  and 
labor,  or  the  employer  and  employed,  it  will  matter  but 
little  how  much  profit  capital  makes  or  how  much  labor  may 
obtain,  if  there  is  only  an  equal  chance  and  an  equitable  dis- 
tribution of  profits.  No  colossal  or  tinnatural  fortunes  can 
be  made  under  such  a  regime ;  no  great  or  one-sided  institu- 
tions will  form  and  control  the  commerce  of  the  land,  whose 
uncurbed  power  may  be  exercised  for  evil. 

_  _      _  Cordial  relations  between 

And  No  Return  of  Profit,   j,^^  employer  and  the  em- 

ployed  at  once  forms  a  solid  basis  on  which  to  rear  a  success- 
ful business  fabric.  When  capital  employs  labor,  where 
there  is  a  product  of  profit,  the  function  of  capital  is  widely 
different  from  that  where  it  simply  is  spent  and  no  return  in 
profits  is  expected.  In  all  departments  of  industry  where 
capital  unites  with  labor,  intended  to  increase  the  wealth  of 
the  capitalist,  the  function  of  capital  should  be  governed  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  under  obligations  to  those  that  unite  with 
it,  in  order  to  make  it  operative.  When  we  say  "  obligation 
■of  capital"  we  apply  its  significance  to  individuals  or  cor- 
porations who  own  or  control  capital. 

The  capitalist  may  argue  that  all  obligations  end  with  the 
payment  of  stipulated  wages.     We  would  remind  them  that 


48  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE- WORKERS. 

there  is  a  jealous  principle  back  of  this  simple  payment  of 
enforced  wages'.  If  capital  becomes  inoperative  as  soon  as 
the  wage-earner  steps  out  then  it  seems  to  us  there  must  be 
an  obligation  be3-ond  the  mere  payment  of  wages. '"'' 

Capital 
It  Cannot  Spin,  Neither  Can  It  Weave,  j^o^^ver 

powerful  a  factor  of  social  distinction  it  may  be,  cannot  spin, 
weave,  design,  manufacture  shoes,  cloth,  machiner}',  nor 
any  other  commodit}'  belonging  to  the  industrial  arts  with- 
out the  assistance  of  labor,  from  the  common  helper  to  the 
skilled  workman. 

.  Profit-sharing  then  comes  forward  and 

Profit-Sharing,   p^^ggj^^-g  ^j^g  ^laim  of  labor  against  capital 

for  a  pro  rata  share  of  its  earnings — which  is  but  fair — for 
the  workman's  time  and  labor  must  associate  itself  with 
capital  before  the  wheels  of  a  factory  can  be  put  into  opera- 
tion. The  argument  applies  to  all  concerned,  where  capital 
operates  and  labor  ivorks.  But  if  A  employs  B  to  repair  his 
fences  for  a  certain  amount  in  daily  wages,  the  work  per- 
formed yielding  no  profit  to  A,  money  thus  spent  is  at  once 
entirely  absorbed  and  no  division  of  profit  is  expected.  But 
if  A  hires  B  to  sink  a  shaft  to  mine  iron-ore,  this  ore  is  sold 
to  C  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  it  into  plows  and  C 
sells  these  plows  to  D,  and  each  time  this  ore  has  changed 
hands  and  form,  a  profit  has  accrued  therefrom,  then  the 
capital  so  used  performs  an  entirely  different  function  and 
changes  the  relations  between  the  capitalist  and  wage- 
earner.      In  this  instance  capital  works  and  adds  ;    in   the 

^The  obligation  we  here  speak  of  is  that  which  arises  from  the 
common  brotherhood  of  man.  It  the  employer  manifests  no  further 
interest  in  his  people  than  merely  an  apparent  selfishness,  stimulated 
simply  by  business  relation,  and  ignores  that  social  tie  of  common 
brotherhood  that  takes  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  our  neighbors, 
which  is  allied  to  family  ties,  then  the  employed  is  made  to  feel  that 
after  all  there  is  but  a  step  between  himselt  and  slavery  ;  that  amica- 
ble relation  between  labor  and  capital  is  not  of  that  strong  friendly  re- 
lation that  might  exist  were  the  social  ansterdsvi  not  so  strictly  ^\^ 
'  forced  between  employer  and  cini)l()yed. 


HON.  JOHN  WANAMAKER. 
Fig.  1. 


FRANCES  E.  WILLARD. 
rig.  2. 


HON.  DANIEL  HAND. 
Fig.  3. 


RICHARD  M.  HUNT. 
Fig.  4. 


Plate  IV-For  sketches  see  pages  219  and  220. 


CORPORATlONvS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  49 

former  case  nione}^  was  spent,  but  was  not  a  money-making 
investment.  In  the  first  case  the  labor  performed  was 
simply  an  exchange  of  services  for  an  equivalent  in  cash 
and  did  not  come  under  that  class  of  labor  in  which  wages 
or  labor  are  affected  by  market  prices,  while  in  the  other,  in 
case  of  the  price  of  iron-ore  changing,  it  may  affect  the  wage 
price  of  the  miner. 

^,       T-  1    TT-      T^i  Now  in  each  and  every 

The  Farmer  and  His  Plow.  .  .    .  .     . 

case  where  capital  is  in- 
vested and  labor  employed,  with  a  view  to  increase  the 
wealth  of  him,  or  those,  who  own  the  capital,  in  all  condi- 
tions where  both  labor  and  capital  do  work  from  which  a 
profit  is  made — in  these  cases  all  competition  on  the  side  of 
labor  should  be  abrogated.  For  it  is  now  a  well  established 
fact  that  poverty  is  the  bane  of  the  poor.  This  is  fully 
demonstrated  by  labor  strikes  and  lock-outs.  These,  it  is 
erroneously  believed,  are  the  means  by  which  capital  can  be 
brought  to  terms.  But  there  are  always  those  ready  to  take 
the  places  of  strikers,  and  as  long  as  this  is  possible  the  poor 
are  the  ruination  of  their  own  class.  AVe  say  most  em- 
phatically that  as  long  as  competitive  labor  exists,  by  or 
through  which  the  price  of  labor  may  be  affected  or  dictated, 

_  ,.,.        ^     ,  which  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  is 

Competitive  Labor.    -.  i       i  ^         i.     .1 

^  done     by    hungry    stomachs,  thus 

forcing  the  workmen  between  two  grinding  forces — com- 
petitive labor  on  one  side  and  capital  in  all  its  arrogance  and 
power  on  the  other,  reducing  wages  on  the  slightest  provo- 
cation— ^just  so  long  the  wage-workers  of  this  country  must 
needs  feel  like  giving  up  the  struggle  to  obtain  the  rights 
that  should  be  vouchsafed  them  under  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

It  is  a  wonder  that  not  more  violence  has  been  committed 
by  those  who  must  keenly  feel  what  ought  to  be  their  por- 
tion, see  the  right  socially  and  nioralh',  of  which  they  are 
unjustly  deprived,  but  see  no  civil  remedy  (alas  !  who  can  ?) 
and  do  not  oftener  have  recourse  to  their  brawny  arms  and 
physical  powers  to  be  put  down  b}'  military  force  ! 


50  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

Let  US  once  more  refer  back  to  our  miner  digging  iron- 
ore,  wliicli  we  liave  already  watched  from  its  crude  state  to 
the  plow.  All  along  the  line  the  market  men,  in  the  differ- 
ent changes  of  the  ore,  have  had  the  wage  prices  regulated 
by  competitive  labor. 

The  manufacturer,  the  capitalist, 
The  Manufacturer.  ^^^  ^^  „^^^^  ^j^^  ,,^^,.^^,j^_  ^^.,,^^^  j,,^ 

price  of  his  product  is  regulated  b}^  competition,  according 
to  supply  and  demand.  Now  if  this  were  all  much  of  our 
investigation  would  end  here.  But  the  major  part  of  the 
story  still  remains  untold.'^' 

For  the  present  we  will  onl^^  state  certain  effects  of  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  prices  of  wage-labor  products  and  how 
this  might  be  better  regulated.  If  the  price  of  iron  is  up 
and  plows  are  in  demand,  and  the  price  as  a  consequence 
also  high,  so  that  each  time  the  iron  changes  form  and 
hands,  from  the  miner  to  the  farmer  who  now  converts  this 
iron  to  the  use  of  other  productions,  the  price  is  increased 
— then,  we  ask,  if  the  prices  of  this  iron  are  high  in  all  its 
mechanical  changes — should  not  the  wage-worker  receive  a 
compensation  corresponding  with  such  existing  prices? 

And  should  the  prices  go  higher  will  the  wage-workers 

receive  higher  wages  ?     We  know  if  the  prices  go  dozvn  his 

wages  follow  suit. 

,-r,-,  ,  .  T^  -  ..  ^  Should  now  at  this  junction  a 
What  IS  Protection?        ^    ^.      ^    -rr.    ^     ■  a        ^ 

protective  taritt  be  levied  on  plows 

by  the  government  and  the  price  of  plows,  as  a  consequence, 

be  raised  in   the   same   raiio^  say  one  dollar  on  each  plow, 

then   the  farmer  has   to  pay  one  dollar  more  for  his  plow. 

This    would  be   denominated   a    "protective  tariff"      Now 

comes   the  question,  how  does  this  protect  the  wage-v.orker 

who  has  been  employed  at  the  different  stations  along  the 

line  from  the  time  the  ore  left  the  ground  and  the  wood  the 

forest?     Does  he  receive   a  corresponding  increase  of  pay 

*  We  here  refer  the  reader  to  the  subject  matter  given  iiiuler  the 
caption  of  "  Organized  Labor  " — market  prices  of  the  products  of  fac- 
tories and  the  hioor  that  piothiccs  it. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKKRS.  5 1 

for  his  labor?  Who  is  it  that  looks  after  the  interests  of  the 
wage-workers?  Surely  not  the  capitalist.  He  is  looking 
for  some  one  to  do  his  work  still  cheaper^  for  it  is  certain  the 
cheaper  you  can  get  work  done  the  more  money  you  will 
make,  and  it  will  also  be  admitted  that  employers  are  sel- 
dom known  voluntarily  to  raise  wages,  hence  proper  legal 
regulation  on  this  subject  may  be  the  right  thing  to  do. 

Now,  if  the  demand  for  raw  material  is  good  and  prices 
high,  then  the  man  who  mines  the  ore  ought  to  receive 
higher  wages  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  capital  invested 
makes  a  greater  profit.  The  wage-worker,  through  whose 
labor  the  ore  is  made  available,  should  receive  increased  pay, 
or  2. pro  rata  dividend,  as  a  just  portion  for  his  labor,  which 
is  Jiis  capital. 

In  order  that  justice  may  be  done  both  to  capital  and 
labor,  we  would  suggest  the  organization  of  a  Labor  Bureau, 
whose  function  shall  be  to  regulate  the  price  of  labor  ac- 
cording to  the  profits  made  by  capital. 

T-t.-     TI7      u   u      13     i.      i.-  This  would  be  protection 

This  Would  be  Protection.   .       ,,       .  ^       t      r    ., 

m     the     interest    of    the 

laborer.  The  capitalist  owes  proper  respect  to  the  work- 
man, whose  bone  and  sinew  as  an  investment  is  joined  to 
his  capital  and  through  which  profit  is  accrued.  Of  course 
the  workingman  must  be  prepared  to  meet  the  reverses 
caused  by  the  decline  of  prices,  the  same  as  the  capitalist, 
as  both  are  under  the  control  of  the  same  market,  governed 
by  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand.  If,  however,  the  price 
of  the  products  advances,  the  laborer,  who  is  in  working  re- 
lation with  the  concern  thus  favored,  should  have  his  wages 
advanced  by  the  Bureau  in  an  equal  proportion.  And,  we 
ask,  is  there  any  just  reason  why  capitalists  should  not 
yield  this  point  and  benefit  the  workingmen,  through  whose 
energy  they  are  enabled  to  increase  their  wealth?  In  all 
law  and  equity  this  should  be  the  solution  of  the  labor 
problem — an  equitable  distribntiori  of  the  profits  arising 
from  any  work  a^nong  all  wJio  aid  in  producing  them. 
Since  the  whole  social  S3'stcm  is  regulated  by  supply  and 


52  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

demand,  then  let  this  rule  govern  both  capitalist  and  wage- 
earner  ;  rednction  of  wages  then  being  a  natnral  seqnence 
to  the  fall  of  prices  of  the  prodncts  of  labor,  and  being  so 
Not  Likely  that  They  Will  Rush  f  "°""^<=d  by  the 

Headlong  Into  a  Strike.  ^"^.°/,  ^:"7":  '^ 

not  likely  that  they 

will  rush  headlong  into  a  strike,  nor  will  the  concerns  tbey 
work  for  be  obliged  to  shnt  down,  or  lock  out  its  workmen, 
knowing,  however,  that  there  are  others  ready  to  fill  their 
places  at  reduced  prices.  Neither  can  capital  reduce  wages 
at  its  own  pleasure,  for  no  other  reason  than  because  there 
are  other  persons  ready  to  fill  the  gap.  Thus,  if  there 
should  be  even  an  over  demand  for  work,  the  price  is  fixed 
by  the  bureau  and  the  wages  will  be  the  same  whoever  does 
the  work,  regulated  by  the  profits  made  by  the  concern. 

The  general  public  is  interested  in  the  successful  opera- 
tion of  every  manufacturing  enterprise,  M'hen  capital  and 
labor  are  in  harmonious  co-operation  with  the  wage-earner, 
when  both  are  making  a  profit,  great  or  small,  the  com- 
munity where  they  operate  will  be  in  sympath}'  with  them, 
for  every  one  will  benefit  b}^  it. 

In  a  Community  Where  Capital  is  Invested. 

''  ^  a    c  o  m  - 

munity  where  capital  is  largely  invested  in  manufacturing 
concerns  and  capital  rules  with  an  iron  hand,  hoarding 
money,  amassing  wealth,  while  labor,  notwithstanding  its 
indispensable  fulcrum  for  leverage  to  capital,  is  ground 
down,  wages  continually  reduced,  there  offended  nature  will 
manifest  itself  in  discontent,  and  smarting  under  repeated 
wrongs  and  injustice,  painful  to  them  as  the  touch  of  the 
scalpel  when  applied  to  the  naked  nerve,  thc}^  will  rise  up 
in  riot ! 

This  is  the  course  many  capitalists  and  managers  of  con- 
cerns have  taken  with  their  emplo3'ees,  and  often,  too,  under 
the  false  pretense  that  there  was  no  market  for  their  pro- 
ducts, and  wages  for  this  reason  must  go  down.  This  sub- 
terfuge may  operate  successfully  as  long  as  workingmen 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  53 

liave  luingry  stomachs  and  sore  hearts — for  they  must  eat! 
But  this  will  not  accord  with  justice  and  equity,  for  the 
working-man  has  rights  the  employer  is  bound  to  respect, 
say  nothing  of  the  treatment  that  is  due  him  from  a  humane 
standpoint. 

Now,  in  order  to  es- 
How  to  Escape  Moral  Censure.  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^  ^^ 

any  course  pursued  by  it,  not  strictly  equitable,  capital 
combines  its  forces  in  the  form  of  a  "Company"  and  appoints 
a  7nanager^  who  is  governed,  and  governs  others,  by  a  code 
of  rules  and  regulations  formulated  by  capital  itself  and  thus 
tries  to  shift  all  moral  responsibility  from  their  own  shoul- 
ders on  to  his;  then  where  is  your  redress  ?  They  operate 
within  the  perview  of  the  law,  keep  on  heaping  indignities 
upon  their  workmen,  until  forgetting  all  else  excepting  that 
they  are  men,  and  freemen,  too,  these  workmen,  perhaps  im- 
prudently, rise  up  to  assert  their  rights,  when  the  local  police 
or  the  government  troops  are  called  in  to  protect  the  capi- 
talist, but  no  protection  for  the  workmen  from  either. 

Now  if  all  these  grievances  can  be 
By  a  Wise  Counsel.  ^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^.^^  avoided,  by  a  wise 

council  or  bureau,  whose  functions  shall  be  to  regulate 
wage  prices,  then  why  not  hail  the  advent  of  the  time  and 
means  when  by  law,  equity  and  justice  in  all  business 
transactions  between  capital  and  labor  peace  can  be  safely 
guaranteed?     Equity  ^ridi  justice  \\&  repeat. 

If  you  go  forth  with  an  olive  branch  to  meet  your  fellow- 
man  on  vantage  ground  you  will  meet  with  a  peaceful  re- 
ception, but  if  you  sally  out  with  helmet  and  sword  you  in- 
vite a  fray.  The  first  course  we  intimated  pays  well,  the 
latter  results  in  loss.  Hence  under  all  circumstances  it  is 
always  more  humane  to  take  the  peaceful  course  in  set- 
tling difficulties  than  to  resort  to  harsh  or  destructive  meas- 
ures. 

Under  such  a  bureau  those  who  have  capital  to  invest 
can  know  in  advance  just  how  to  calculate  the  expense  of 


54  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

running  their  concern.     The  price  of  labor  in  each  special 
department  is  fixed. 

The  bureau  having  regulated  the  prices 
Jurisdiction.  ^^^^  capitalist  will  have  no  opportunity  to  re. 
duce  Avages  at  any  time  he  may  chose  to  do  so,  neither  will 
there  exist  any  labor  competitive  element  to  work  for  lower 
wages.  It  may  be  asserted  that  such  a  measure  would  be 
unjust.  How?  "Well,"  says  one,  "the  capitalist  should 
have  the  right  to  hire  men  at  wages  as  low  as  possible." 
So  he  has  a  right  and  as  long  as  he  has  a  reasonable  profit 
he  should  not  complain. 

The  laborer  must  have  a  profit  as  well  as  the  capitalist, 
and  should  supply  and  demand  so  regulate  prices  that  na 
profits  will  accrue  to  him  for  a  time,  the  price  of  labor  also 
being  reduced,  there  is  no  reason  for  a  shut  down  by  the 
capitalist  on  the  plea  that  it  donU  pay. 

The  workingman  cannot  reason  from  that  standpoint 
Subsistence  is  an  arbitrary  power  and  the  laborer  cannot  say 
that  because  it  dorC t  pay  he  will  shut  dozuti  on  eating  and 
drinking  and  lodging.      He  must  work  or  starve  !  * 

The  judicious  business  man  makes  a  careful  inventory 
of  his  resources,  expenses,  profits,  assets  and  liabilities. 
The  wise  general  when  advancing  on  the  enemy  provides 
for  proper  means  of  retreat  With  a  scale  of  prices  before 
you  you  cannot  err. 

If  one  thing  is  more  appar- 
Dissatisfied  Capitalists.  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^3  ^^^^  ^^^ 

wage-workers  are,  as  a  rule,  employed  or  controlled  by  em- 
ployers, in  many  of  our  shops,  on  very  much  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  is  used  in  hiring  a  horse.  The  first  consideration 
is  the  amount  of  vionry  that  can  be  made  out  of  his  services. 

We  admit  that  the  hope  of  gain  is  the  actuating  princi- 
ple   of   commerce,   the  natural   function    of  the    faculty  of 

*  Workinj^nien  should  learn  to  save  all  it  is  possible  so  that  they  be 
prepared  for  any  emergency.  See  article  under  the  head  of  "  Cost  of 
Living  "  for  further  hints  on  this  subject. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  55 

acquisitiveness,   and  both  the  capitalist  and  the  workman 

are  different  in  their  relations  to  their  environment     The 

former  is  simph'  actuated  b}'  the  motive  of  ^y?///,  the  latter 

by    the    force  of  circumstances  is  compelled  to  invest  his 

labor,  which  is  his  capital,  that  he  may  in  some  way  also 

acquire  the  means  of  subsistence. 

The  exercise  of  the  faculty  of  acquisitiveness  is  the  same 

in  both  cases,  but  sustain  a  differe^it  attitude  to  each  other, 

.   ^.„  ,    ,.       ,       the  capitalist  and  the  laborer.     The 

A  Different  Attitude.  .        r  i  v  •  n 

common  law  01  humanity,  socially 

and  morall}^,  enters  into  the  component  parts  of  either  in 
the  exercise  of  this  faculty  of  acquisitiveness.  But  by  los- 
ing sight  of  the  limitations  prescribed  by  the  Golden  Rule 
men  drift  blindly  into  forbidden  channels  where,  as  in  the 
barbarous  state  of  man,  "might  makes  right,"  and  when 
the  capitalist  says,  ''I  zvill  do  this,"  and  "I  can  do  that," 
therefore  it  is  right.  Thus  capitalists,  little  by  little,  are 
transformed  into  a  simple  money-making  machine  and  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  common  law  of  right,  which  by  nature 
is  intended  to  apply  to  one  as  well  as  the  other,  assume  a 
condition  which  may  safely  be  termed  a  mania.      In  plainer 

_      .,.        -  ^      .,    ,    terms  it  mis^ht  be  said  that  this 

Fugitive  from  Capital,   r      ^^        r  ■  -.•  -u 

°  ^  faculty     01     acquisitiveness    has 

been  stricken  with  insanity. 

Therefore,  we  sa}',  that  where  the  true  relations  between 
capital  and  labor  exist  and  are  duly  appreciated,  no  discord 
can  result  from  their  application  in  conducting  any  busi- 
ness for  profit.  But  since  the  fact  warrants  the  statement 
that  Jiiimanity  is  a  fugitive  from  capital  and  the  wage-worker 
reduced  to  the  level  of  the  mule,  humanity  and  justice  de- 
mand the  enactment  of  laws  to  regulate  conditions  intoler- 
able   to    men  who  innatel}'  possess  the  spirit  of  freedom. 

.         ^     ^    .  .,      -_         ,  The  tendencv  of  this  unequal 

Innate  Spirit  of  Freedom.     ,         ,     c   '\^       ^  i     •  w 

struggle    tor  the       almiglity 

dollar,"  rightfully  belonging  to  him  who  honestly  acquires 
it,  is  plain  to  every  honest  thinking  mind,  and  to  'avert  a 
catastrophe  labor  organizations  have  been   created  all   over 


56  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

tlie  land,  originally  for  protection,  but  latterly  assuming  a 
spirit  of  aggression.  But  not,  as  we  are  sometimes  told,  for 
the  purpose  of  antagonizing  capital,  but  more  with  a  view 
to  cultivate  amicable  relations,  while  affirming,  by  U7iited 
voice,  and  to  enforce  by  moral  suasion^  if  possible,  the  rights 
to  which  they  believe  the  wage-earners  are  already  entitled- 

Strikes  were  inaugurated  we  know,  and  that  this  means 
of  settling  existing  grievances  injured  their  cause  we  hon- 
estly believe.  Strikes  are  not  the  proper  thing  for  two  spe- 
cial reasons.  In  the 'first  place,  there  are  always  those  who 
are  ready  and  eager  to  take  the  place  of  the  strikers.  The 
capitalist,  against  whom  the  strike  is  inaugurated,  knows 
this,  and  in  many  instances  the  workmen  are  so  illy  treated 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  rules  governing  the  order  to 
which  they  belong,  a  strike  becomes  inevitable,  and  by  pre- 
cipitating a  strike  they  give  the  capitalist  a  ready  excuse  to 
fill  their  places  at  reduced  wages. 

Here  the  hungry  men  outside  cause  the  destruction  of 
their  own  interests  and  their  fellow  workmen  if  they  are 

_         ,         _,  ^     poor.     Then  in  the  second  place,  the 

Lawless  Element.  ^       ^  ..     .    ^^     .,    .   ^  „    '. 

moment  a  strike  is  called  on,'  a  law- 
less element,  in  many  instances  not  members  of  any  labor 
order,  find  a  ready  opportunity  to  revenge  themselves  for 
some  real  or  fancied  injury,  and  in  a  cowardl}^  manner  de- 
stroy property  and  sometimes  stain  their  souls  with  mur- 
der. Public  sentiment,  of  course,  will  at  once  condemn  the 
labor  organization  and  acquit  the  capitalist. 

Only  the  most  ignorant  and  vicious  would  perpetrate  such 
lawless  acts.  But  here  we  present  two  factors,  against 
which  our  labor  organizations  must  contend^  and  there  are 
yet  other  reasons  why  they  have  not  been  more  successful. , 

_         _  ^    ^      .         We  stated  that,  to  a  larsfe  extent, 

To  a  Large  Extent,  ^1  r  r  •.  1 

°  the  avarice  or  many  of  our  cajDital- 

ists  is  the  cause  of  these  troubles.  We  wish,  however,  to  be 
understood  that  we  do  not  by  any  means  class  all  our  busi- 
ness men  and  capitalists  under  one  caption.  Hence  we  say 
the  avarice  oi  7)iany  of  them  carries  them  to  a  point  in  tlieir 


C.  G.  CONN. 


Plate  V   For  sketch  see  page  220. 


CORPORATIONS    AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  57 

Operations  wlien  they  are  never  satisfied,  never  get  enongli, 
draw  the  line  of  social  distinction  too  close,  reach  out  be- 
yond their  proper  limits,  organize  "trusts,''  pools,  monopo- 
lies, controlling  the  markets,  &c.,  and  these,  we  sa}',  are 
simply  their  own  eggs  which  hatch  out  all  the  sad  conse- 
quences they  so  bitterl}^  condemn,  the  natural  fruition  of 
their  insane  desire  for  wealth  and  power. 

^  ,„     ,  For  this  class  of  people  we 

For  Whom  Law  is  Made,  ^^^^,^^  j^^^^.^  ,^^^.,  ^^  ^^^^,1^^^ 

and  protect  capital  as  well  as  labor  in  their  natural  rights. 
This  element  if  permitted  to  exist  and  dominate  is  as  much 
an  injustice  to  the  capital,  which  is  willing  to  make  a  legiti- 
mate profit,  in  an  honorable  wa}',  as  to  labor.  It  prevents 
the  taking  of  equal  chances  in  the  market,  which  is,  or 
should  be,  regulated  by  the  natural  laws  of  supply  and  de- 
mand. Under  such  restrictions  or  rules  the  general  public, 
as  well  as  the  individual  wage-earner  and  capitalist,  will  ob- 
tain justice. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  discussion  of  legal  boards  of  ar- 
bitration, as  the  regulating  media  of  matters  arising  out  of 
business  misunderstandings  or  injustice,  we  will  briefly  re- 
view past  strikes  and  lockouts,  their  cost  and  other  results. 

■  STRIKES  ;  LOCKOUTS  ;  RESULTS  j  LOSSES  ;  NUMBER  OF  STRIKES  ; 
IMMEDIATE  CAUSES  ;  HOW  TO  AVOID  TROUBLE  OF  THIS 
KIND,  ETC. 

—.^.^  There  is  a  vast  and  imjDortant  differ- 

The  Difference,  ence  between  a  "strike "and  a  "lockout." 
-A  stoppage  by  the  emploj^ees,  caused  by  a  demand  not  al- 
lowed or  acceeded  to  b}'  the  employer,  constitutes  what  is 
designated  a  "strike."  On  the  other  hand,  a  discontinu- 
ance of  operations  b}'  the  employers,  caused  by  a  demand  or 
action  opposed  by  the  emplo3'ees,  would  be  termed  a  "lock- 
out." There  are,  however,  some  instances  in  which  the  real 
cause,  whether  owing  to  the  fault  of  the  emploj-er  or  the 
-employed,  is  not  clearh^  defined.  This  matters  but  little 
.so  long  as  the  fact  remains  uncontradicted :  that  whether  it 


58  CORPOR.\TIONS  AND  WAGE-WORKERS. 

be  a  strike  or  a  lockout,  if  inaugurated  for  the  purpose  of 
forcing  a  settlement  of  labor  differences,  tbe  result,  almost 
invariably,  will  be  idleness. 

Strikes  and  lockouts  are  almost  unknown  in  agricultural 
sections,  while  they,  only  too  frequently,  occur  in  manufac- 
turing and  mining  districts.     In  1880  three  hundred  and 
four  out  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty-two  strikes  in   this 
country  occurred   in  Pennsylvania,  a  manufacturing   and 
mining  State.     As  a  rule  but  few  of  these  strikes  have  been 
successful,  some  were  partially  so,  some  compromised,  but 
most  of  them  ended  in  failure.     We  speak  now  from  the 
labor  point  of  view,  in  which,  as  a  rule,  they  were  a  non- 
success.     The  census  report  of  1880  gives  for  the  decade 
then  ended  an  average  per  cent,  of  the  successful  strikes  in 
New  England  at  12  per  cent.     In  1880,  as  stated  already, 
762  strikes  and  lockouts  took  place  in  this  country,  and  the 
number  of  persons  engaged  in  the  different  industries  af- 
fected thereby  was  128,676.     Of  this  number  414  returned 
to  their  old  positions,  while  128,262  were  left  idle  for  the 
time  being,  and  unprovided  for  while  in  search  of  other  em- 
ployment.    The  total  loss  resulting  from  these  strikes,  in 
wages,  if  the   time  were  centered  on  one  man,  would    be 
1,989,872  days.     The  average  wages  then  paid  before  the 
different  strikes  and  in  the  various  industries  affected,  $1.86 
per  diem,  the  actual  loss,   fully  calculated  on  all  sides,  was 
$3,711,097.      A  much  greater  loss  than  this  was,  no  doubt, 
sustained  by  all  concerned  and  parties  involved.      In  these 
strikes  eight  millions  have  been  calculated  to  be  the  loss  re- 
sulting in  various  ways,  directly  and  indirectly,  or  through 
the  stolid  obstinacy  and  selfishness  of  those  interested,  who 
might  have  found  a  remedy,   as  we  shall   show,   by  which 
this   great  loss  might  have  been   avoided.      This,  we  con- 
tend, might  have  been  done  by  a  legal   board  of  arbitration 
or  a  properly  constituted  labor  bureau,   whose  powers  and 
legal  function   would  l)e  to  make  and  regulate  a  scale  of 
prices  and  adjusl  and  settle  aiiiical)ly  all  differences  between 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKRRS.  59 

employer  and  emplo3'ee.  Besides  the  direct  losses  eninn- 
erated,  sustained  by  both  employee  and  employer,  there  are 
thousands  of  other  persons,  not  directly  involved  in  these 
troubles,  who  are  nevertheless  seriously  affected  thereby  in 
many  different  ways.  By  lessening  trade  thousands  are  in- 
jured. 

Those  striking  or  locked-out  workmen  are  in  debt  and 
cannot  pay.  Homes  partially  paid  are  sacrificed.  Mer- 
chants fail  to  collect  outstanding  accounts  and  cannot  meet 
their  liabilities.  Others  holding  positions  in  tributary 
channels  lost  their  employment,  even  banks  lost  in  falling 
off  depositors,  and  if  all  the  various  losses  resulting  from 
these  troubles  were  carefully  computed  they  would  amount, 
for  1880  alone,  to  over  one  and  a  half  bi/ lion  dollars. 

In  1886  499,489  men  were  involved  in  strikes — three 
times  as  many  as  in  1880.  The  loss  was,  of  course,  pro- 
portionally great.  During  the  five  years,  ending  in  1890, 
the  number  of  men  directly  engaged  in  strikes  and  lockouts 
amounted  to  the  almost  startling  number  of  1,677,162. 
Counting  their  families  and  others  affected  in  various  ways, 
they  would  number  almost  as  many  as  the  standing  armies 
of  the  world.  If  a  tax  of  five  cents  was  levied  on  each  wage- 
worker,  as  reported  in  these  strikes,  or  involved  therein,  it 
would  aggregate  over  $5,000  annually — almost  enough  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  a  board  of  arbitration^  through  whose 
instrumentality  not  only  money  might  have  been  saved,  but 
many  aggravating  disputes  might  have  been  amicably  ad- 
justed which  terminated  not  only  in  loss  of  money,  position, 
revolts  destruction  of  property,  but  ended  in  many  instances 
in  bloodshed. 

What  the  people  mostly  desire  to  attain 
ur  .  ^ggaj.(jijig  tjje  labor  problem,  pre-eminent 
of  all  points  looking  toward  a  successful  solution,  is  to  centre 
on  some  method  or  way  by  which,  in  a  conciliatory  manner, 
we  can  adjust  disputes  or  difficulties  arising  between  em- 
ployer and  employed,  so  that  in  no  case  it  may  be  necessary 


6o  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

to  resort  to  lockouts,  strikes  or  violent  means  in  any  form. 
Conciliation,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  by  far  the  best  policy. 

Private  bureaus  have  succeeded,  in  a  degree,  in  France, 
England  and  in  this  country.  However,  if  voluntary  arbi- 
tration could  be  made  to  meet  all  the  exigencies  of  trouble 
that  cannot  be  settled  amicably  by  those  immediatelv  inter- 
ested, then  nothing  safer  or  better  could  be  desired.  Better 
still  would  it  be  for  the  American  people,  if  a  course  or  sys- 
tem of  conducting  business  could  be  devised  in  a  legal  man- 
ner, the  effect  of  which  would  act  as  a  preventive,  that  even 
boards  of  arbitration,  as  well  as  strikes,  may  become  obsolete 
altogether,  a  condition  of  the  social  S3'stem  not  impossible, 
for  what  is  attainable  by  an  individual  ma\'  also  be  accom- 
plished by  the  masses. 

Since,  however,  moral  suasion  and  voluntary  arbitration 
have  been  successful  only  to  a  ver}-  limited  degree,  it  seems 
nothing  is  left,  as  a  final  means  of  settling  these  troubles, 
than  compulsory  arbilratioii^  which  may,  nevertheless,  be 
conciliatory.  We  would  suggest,  to  create  for  this  purpose, 
a  legal  board  or  bureau,  whose  functions  shall  be  to  regulate 
and  settle  all  labor  trouble  in  an  equitable  way,  so  that  jus- 
tice may  be  meted  out  to  all  parties  concerned.  It  seems  to 
be  the  only  way  open  to  tis  out  of  a  grievous  difficulty,  which 
must  be  brought  under  control  in  some  \\?iy  that  the  peace 
of  the  nation  may  be  assured  in  the  future.  Laws  are  en- 
acted for  the  purpose  of  regulating  human  actions,  when  it 
becomes  a  necessit}^,  and,  unless  there  is  really  a  need  for 
new  enactments,  it  is  evident  that  the  fewer  laws  we  have 
the  better  it  is  for  the  people.  What  the  natiou  needs  is 
laws  that  will  meet  the  wants  of  all  people  under  all  circum- 
stances and  conditions. 

P  .  Profiting   by   experience  and  the  lessons 

^  ■   thereby  inculcated,  we  are  led  to  the  indis- 

putable fact  that  the  time  has  come  when  a  broader  view 
of  the  situation  is  demanded,  and  prompt  action  will  be  re- 
warded by  a  surer  way  and  a  "shorter  cut"  out  of  the  di- 


CORPORATIONS   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  6l 

lemma.  As  before  stated,  since  there  are  capitalists  wlio  are 
never  satisfied  with  even  enough  of  this  world's  possessions 
and  a  good  profit  constantly  accruing  to  them,  and  who  are 
not  willing  to  abide  by  the  limitation  of  the  laws  of  right, 
or  even  willing  to  submit  to  impartial  and  voluntary  arbi- 
tration to  engender  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  should  it  not 
then,  under  circumstances  like  these,  become  plain  that  the 
only  and  best  remedy  remains  to  us  is  in  a  proper  and  judi- 
cious system  of  compulsory  arbitration  f  For  another  and  a 
good  reason  this  will  be  the  only  and  best  course  and  the 
proper  thing  to  do — namely,  it  is  a  fact  that,  as  a  rule,  capi- 
talists object  to  arbitration,  which  fact  may  be  used  as  evi- 
dence that  they  do  not  want  to  do  the/(3;zr  thing.  Or,  per- 
haps, the  main  reason  may  be  that  it  seems  to  them  too 
humiliating  to  recognize  a  mere  wage-earner  (though  a 
fellow-being)  by  arbitration,  which  would  make  them  social 
equals,  for  too  many  arrogate  to  themselves  the  idea  that 
possession  gives  to  them  a  rightful  social  distinction. 

We  would  then  propose,  as 
Compulsory  Arbitration.  ^  ^^^^^  ^^  self-preservation 

and  settling  of  grievous  disagreements,  legal  arbitration^ 
which  should,  however,  be  governed  by  the  same  rules  of 
equity  as  in  voluntary  arbitration,  the  only  difference  being 
that  it  shall  be  compulsory  and  final.  A  State  board  of  arbi- 
tration, or,  as  we  propose,  a  board  which  shall  be  known  in 
law  as  a  ''Labor  Bureau,'^  composed  of  six  persons,*  strictly 
non-partisan,  to  be  appointed  by  every  State,  and  shall  be 
authorized  to  make  laws  and  decide  questions  at  issue. 

The  members  of  this  bureau,  we  would  suggest,  should  be 
elected  by  the  people  at  regular  State  elections.  (A  friend 
at  our  elbow  suggests  that  the  members  of  this  bureau  be 
appointed  by  the  State  Legislature  when  in  regular  session,  se- 
lections to  be  made  from  the  difterent  national  political  parties). 

*  We  use  here  the  term  "  persons  "  for  obvious  reason.  Sex  is  not 
expressed,  for  there  is  no  good  reason  why  ivomayi  shall  not  be  eligible 
to  a  seat  in  this  bureau,  providing  she  possesses  the  qualifications  re- 
quired, as  we  suggest,  for  its  members. 


62  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

Whatever  the  best  course  in  this  regard  may  be  thought 

by  the  powers  that  be,  we  are  quite  willing  to  allow  our 

statesmen  to  determine,  still  we  are  inclined  to  the  electing 

of  the  members  of  the  bureau  by  the  people,  the  nomination 

to  be  made  at  the  regular  State  conventions  of  the  different 

political  parties ;  the  nomination  to  be  non-partisan,  that  is, 

no  matter  what  a  manls  political  proclivities  may  be,  if  he  is 

otherwise  qualified  and  worthy,  as  we  shall  outline,  he  shall 

have  his  say;  the  term  of  ofiice  to  be  for  hvo  years;  three 

members  to  be  elected  each  year,  and  while  three  or  more 

may  be  nominated,  the  three  candidates  receiving  a  majority 

of  votes  over  all  the  rest  shall  be  considered  elected. 

^^  .   ^,      --        '       ,.  Theof&cersof  this  bureau  may 

Strictly  Non-partisan.  ,     ,  ,  ,  .    . 

■^  ^  be  known  as  laboy  commissioners^ 

whose  salary  shall  be  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  give  all 
their  time  to  this  work,  allowing  three  months'  vacation. 
This  bureau  is  to  be  strictly  non-partisan,  if  such  a  thing 
is  possible.  The  members  of  the  Labor  Bureau  must  not 
have  either  direct  or  indirect  personal  money-interest  in  any 
business  coming  within  their  jurisdiction  in  any  of  the  indus- 
trial arts  of  the  character  we  have  defined,  viz. :  where  labor 
joins  capital  for  the  purpose  of  gain^  and  those  institutions 
over  which  the  Labor  Bureau  shall  have  legislation.  More- 
over, these  officers,  as  they  may  be  denominated,  shall  not 
be  under  forty  or  over  sixty  years  of  age,  and  shall  have  a 
reputation  for  honor  and  knowledge  of  statesmanship,  over 
which  a  majority  of  the  voters  shall  count  the  same  in  elegi- 
bility  as  in  the  election  of  other  State  officers. 

^t,      T-»  T  1.    J         ^^^    function  of    this    bureau 

The  Power  Invested.     .    n  i     ^  i  ,        ,     .1,-, 

snail  be  to  regulate  and  establish 

a  scale  of  wages  for  every  degree  of  skill  and  condition  of 

wage-earnings,  in  all  business  where  capital  competes  with 

labor  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  profit.     In  deciding  on  a 

correct  and  just  scale  of  prices,  both  business  men  and  the 

wage-earners  can  be  of  great  help  to  the  labor  commissioners 

by  giving  them  proper  datas  of  the   markets   and  wages 

extant,  from  time  to  time,  by  which  the  commissioners  will 


CORrORATlONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  63 

•soon    be    enabled    to  justly   regulate    the    wages    by    the 
changes  brought  about  by  the  markets. 

All  business,  such  as  we  have  designated,  however  lim- 
ited or  unlimited  in  the  amount  invested,  must  register  with 
the  labor  bureau  and  receive  a  permit  to  carry  on  busi- 
ness, and  accept  a  scale  of  wage-prices  which  must  be  paid 
to  employees.  This  scale  will  be  subject  to  changes  accord- 
ing as  the  markets  may  go  up  or  down,  giving  to  the  manu- 
facturer always  Jiis  legitimate  profits  and  to  the  wage- 
earner  what  is  justly  his  due.  The  price  of  wages,  as 
well  as  the  price  of  commodities,  will  be  regulated  by  loca- 
tion and  conditions,  much  the  same  as  that  which  is  in  vogue 
at  the  present  time,  only  the  great  desideratum  to  be  attained 
will  be  to  steer  clear  of  unpleasant  disputes  and  unjust  deal- 
ings one  with  another. 

This  will  prohibit  the  employer  from  discharging  his 
people  and  replacing  them  with  cheaper  labor.  It  will  also 
do  away  with  competitive  labor.  That  is,  no  one  can  un- 
derbid wage-prices,  for  the  employer  is  not  permitted  to  pay 
less  than  the  established  or  current  wages.  This  is  the 
only  way  the  wage-earners  of  this  country  can  be  protected 
from  cheaper  labor  ;  since  there  are  always  persons  who  for 
various  reasons  would  do  the  work  for  less  than  by  right 
should  be  paid.  *  This,  of  course,  will,  in  a  certain  sense, 
make  the  wage-earner  a  partner  in  the  business  where  he  is 
employed,  as  in  reality  he  is,  since  the  fact  remains  undis- 
puted that  without  labor  capital  is  inoperative. 

The  employer  will  still  retain  all  the  rights  he  now  has 
to  employ  whomsoever  he  may,  or  discharge  his  people,  in- 
crease or  curtail  the  number  of  employees,  or  lessen  hours, 
run  full  or  half  time,  or  discharge  anyone  for  incompetency, 
neglect  of  duty,  or  any  other  offense  that  may  in  his  j  udg- 
ment  wan-ant  such  a  course  ;  but  for  simply  being  a  mem- 
ber of  a  labor  union  the  employer  can  have  no  say,  and  con- 


*This  subject  is  more  fully  discussed  under  the  head  of  "Foreign 
Competition,"  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 


64  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGK-WORKERS. 

cerniiig  any  chauges  of  wage-prices  he  will  be  wliolly  con- 
trolled by  the  labor  burean. 

Tins  zvill put  a  stop  to  all  strikes  or  lockouts.  We  wish  in 
this  to  do  as  we  would  be  done  by,  and  go  to  the  extreme 
limit  of  what  is  right.  The  capitalist  sa--s  it  is  "?;/;/  money 
that  is  invested  and  I  want  to  feel  that  I  have  full  control." 
And  so  3'ou  shall  have,  and  hence  we  will  go  even  so  far  as 
to  suggest  to  this  board  that  any  private  personal  contract 
3^011  can  make  with  any  of  your  people  shall  not  come  under 
the  supervision  of  the  labor  bureau,  so  long  as  your  actions 
or  contracts  do  not  come  under  the  head  of  competitive 
labor,  as  we  have  drawn  the  line,  and  this  must  be  recog- 
nized b}'  the  people  of  this  country  or  there  will  be  no  rem- 
edy for  our  troubles. 

The  Main  Power  of  the  Labor  Bureau.  ,-,  . 

power     this 

labor  bureau  shall  be  endowed  with  is  to  act  as  a  legal  board 
to  arbitrate,  in  a  conciliatory  manner,  and  impartially  judge 
and  decide  disputes,  misunderstandings,  grievances  of  what- 
ever nature  or  character  arising  between  the  employer  or 
employed.  The  acts  of  this  board  shall  be  final,  for  if  six 
just  men  cannot  render  a  just  verdict  when  all  the  evidence, 
pro  and  con.,  is  properly  presented  by  plaintiff  and  defend- 
ant, then  no  higher  tribunal  among  men  can  be  had,  unless 
it  may  be  possibly  found  in  the  voice  of  a  majority  of  the 
people. 

All  labor  performed  outside  of  institutions,  where  money 
is  spent  in  making  improvements,  of  whatever  nature, 
where  there  is  no  capital  invested  for  the  purpose  oi gaiji^ 
will  not  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  labor  bureau  and 
will  be  left  wholly  to  competitive  labor  for  the  regulation  of 
wages.  For  example  :  A  has  a  job  for  someone  to  do  and 
B  is  willing  to  perform  the  work  for  $2.00,  and  it  is  really 
worth  $2.00,  but  C  steps  forward  and  underbids  B  and  pro- 
poses to  A  to  do  the  work  for  $1.50.  C  will  get  the  job,  un- 
less   out  of  purely  philanthropic  motive  A  would  pay    B 


BEN  TILLETT. 
Fig.  1. 


ISAIAH  V.  M^ILLIAMSON. 
Fig.  2. 


J.  H.  STEAD. 
Fig.  3. 


FLORENCE  NIGHTINO-ALE. 
Fig.  4. 


Plate  VI-For  sketches  see  page  220. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  65 

really  what  iu  honor  the  work  is  worth.  This  we  denomi- 
nate competitive  labor.  But  this  does  not  affect  the  indus- 
trial arts  in  general,  nor  not  at  all  as  to  institutions,  which, 
are,  or  come,  under  the  supervision  of  the  labor  bureau. 

By  this  time  our  reader  will  understand  the  line  we  draw 
between  the  labor  that  comes  legitimately  under  the  regu- 
lating function  of  the  labor  bureau  and  that  which  is  left 
to  itself  The  institutions  registered  in  the  labor  bureau^ 
and  all  labor  therein  performed,  is  no  longer  co7npetitive 
labor.  The  ovXy  competition  that  can  effect  it  is  that  which 
regulates  the  commodit}^ ;  the  product  of  its  own  labor, 
where  it  has  to  compete  with  the  governing  or  regulating 
principles  of  supply  and  demand  in  the  markets  of  the  world, 
the  same  competition  which  regulates  the  profits  of  the  cap- 
ital invested.  But,  as  it  is  now,  all  such  labor,  as  in  the 
former  instances,  incurs  regulation  of  wage-prices  from  two 
sources,  competition  met  with  in  the  markets  and  competitive 
labor  coming  from  its  ozun  ranks.  Here  is  an  injustice.^  as 
all  can  see  at  once.  Unfair  proposition !  Double  odds,, 
which  the  laboring  classes  at  the  present  time  are  bound  to 
face,  while  capital  has  really  to  meet  but  one  source  of  com- 
petition, and  this  is  largely  modified  by  uniting  its  strength 
in  forming  trusts,  pools  and  corporations,  the-'  power  of 
which  is  beyond  the  control  of  our  wage-earners,  however 
well  they  may  be  organized.  Even  the  general  public 
comes  under  the  ban  of  the  present  regime.,  and  the  only 
recourse  lies  in  the  enactment  of  laws  tliat  will  correct  the 
pending  difficulties.  Certainly  no  one  will  think  us  hypo- 
critical when  we  contend  for  measures  by  daw  to- remove 
just  one  obstacle  in  the  way  of  our  wage-earners  to  an  equal 
chance  with  capital  to  acquire  that  dollar  due  to  the  one  who. 
justly  wins  it. 

So  long  as  the  wage-earner  is  unprotected  against  the 
competition  coming  from  his  own  ranks,  the  capitalist  can 
discharge  his  people  and  replace  them  M-ith  cheaper  labor. 
This  is  the  primary  cause  of  strikes  and  lockouts,  and  so 


66  CORPORATIONS   AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

long  as  tliis  field  is  opeu  tlie  present  trouble  between  capital 
and  labor  will  exist  and  grow  worse  instead  of  better.  Labor 
unions  have  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the 
trouble  face  to  face,  and  aim  at  precisely  what  we  claim ;  and, 
although  these  labor  unions  have  been  failures  in  extant, 
still  it  must  be  admitted,  from  the  facts  existing,  that  these 
unions  have  created  a  public  sentiment  which,  prospectively, 
it  may  be  said,  have  been  to  a  certain  degree  successful.  ^ 
«   .  The  salary  of  this  board  should  be  enough  to 

^'  make  it  desirable  or  allowable  for  a  good  business 
man  to  serve.  We  would  suggest  $1,500  or  $1,800  a  year, 
making  monthly  pajmients,  giving  them  a  vacation  of  three 
months — the  time  to  be  agreed  to  among  themselves.  All 
rulings  must  be  determined  when  all  the  members  are 
present,  or  a  quorum^  which  shall  consist  of  all  the  members, 
and  all  actions  or  decisions  must  be  unanimous,  as  in  the 
case  of  a  jury. 

Then  there  should  be  a  clerk,  and  a  stenographic  type- 
writer at  a  reasonable  salarj^  The  salary  we  mention 
merely  so  as  to  proximate  the  cost  of  this  labor  bureau, 
which  should  not  be  much  over  $11,000  or  $12,000  annually. 
This  can  readily  be  made  up  to  the  State  by  a  small  regis- 
tration fee  of  the  business  concerns  coming  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  the  labor  bureau.  We  would  suggest  an  an- 
nual fee  of  $2.00  for  every  thousand  dollars  invested  by  the 
concern  so  registering. 

The  cost  of  this  bureau  is  very  small  as  compared  with 
the  cost  of  a  single  strike,  besides  it  will  keep  the  people 
together  more,  socially,  and  create  a  kinder  relation  between 
capital  and  labor,  at  the  same  time  materially  assisting  in 
furthering  the  work  in  hand,  for  where  emplo}- er  and  em- 
ployed are  mutually  interested  a  more  cordial  and  enduring 

*  We  would  here  suggest  that  our  reader  turn  to  pages  58  and  59 
where  we  give  the  number  of  strikes,  and  the  number  engaged  in  them, 
and  the  cost  in  money  and  time,  both  to  the  employer  and  employed, 
and  then  think  how  much  better  a  system  of  ciunpolsory  arbitrati07i  luill 
be  when  all  this  trouble  can  be  obviated. 


CORPORATIONS    AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  6/ 

feeling  is  engendered,  and  work  as  a  consequence  is  prose- 
cated  witli  greater  rapidity,  the  results  therefrom  being 
larger  profits  and  the  retention  of  a  reputation  for  prompt 
and  eflScient  execution  of  orders,  which  in  many  instances 
will  bring  increased  business  to  the  employer  and  frequently 
be  a  great  and  highly-appreciated  accommodation  to  the 
party  for  whom  the  work  is  done. 


By  Way  of  Desultory  Recapiiulation  we  Close  This  Section  With  a  Few 
Notes  on  Comptdsory  Arbitratio7i . 

1. — The  law  of  universal  fraternity  demands  that  the  people,  through 
their  representatives,  in  a  legally  constituted  state  labor  bureau,  shall 
furce  settlement  by  arbitration  of  all  disputes  arising  between  <^a/>^■/a/«?^^ 
labor.  We  admit  this  to  be  the  alternative,  but  at  the  present  time  and 
for  many  years  to  come  it  is  the  best  thing  to  do.  If  this  bureau  was 
a  court  this  could  not  be  legally  done,  but  since  it  is  conciliatory  and 
peaceful  there  is  no  obstacle  in  the  way  that  the  mind  can  conceive  of 
for  the  state  to  enforce  conipidsory  arbitration — humanity  demands  it. 

It  is  hoped  that  wise  and  honorable  men  forming  an  impartial  tri- 
bunal will  render  a  just  and  true  verdict  by  which  both  disputants  will 
be  benefited  and  thus  maintain  a  friendly  relation.  Then  he  who  asks 
more  than  justice,  or  is  not  satisfied  with  an  equitable  and  honorable 
decision,  is  not  a  good  citizen.  It  would  be  far  better  for  society  if  such 
a  man  were  forced  to  take  a  position  in  the  front  rank  in  battle  where 
he  will  be  the  first  to  fall. 

2. — Man  exists  under  physical  laws  which  are  well  defined  by  phj-si- 
ology.  In  every  sense  man  is  so  organized  that  his  environments  are 
not  only  adapted  to  his  needs,  but  furnish  means  of  existence,  all  that 
is  required  is  to  exercise  his  capabilities  to  acquire  what  is  by  nature 
his  due.  By  tilling  the  ground,  in  return  for  his  labor,  the  earth 
brings  forth  food  for  his  body.  Without  labor,  either  mental  or  man- 
ual, he  would  not  long  survive.  Everyone  has  a  right  to  use  means 
to  serve  the  end  of  existence.  In  mankind  there  is  planted  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  faculty  of  consistencj^  and  hence  the  rational  comes  upper- 
most in  the  mind,  so  that  what  are  one  man's  needs,  rights  and  pre- 
rogatives are  also  the  ethical  and  physical  attributes  of  his  brother-man. 
Primarily,  humanity  begins  here,  and  he  who  wants  more  steps  over 
the  \2in^w\2Lx\i  oi  consistaicy .  There  are  those  who  are  never  satisfied 
though  they  may  possess  the  earth  and  are  not  willing  to  concede  to 
others  what  they  are  ever  ready  to  arrogate  to  themselves.     These  are 


6S  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

the  fractions  members  of  society,  and  the  public  sense  of  what  is  right 
may  of  necessity  be  compelled  to  call  a  meeting  of  friends  to  advise, 
conciliate  and  thus  in  the  most  humane  and  friendly  manner  try  to  ad- 
just and  settle  difficulties.  But  shotild  this  course  prove  a  failure,  to 
harmonize  incongruous  elements,  then  comes  the  crisis,  when  the 
sociological  laws  of  equity  may  have  to  be  enforced,  and  we  claim  that 
at  this  point,  after  all  ethical  means  have  failed  should  be  in  the  form 
of  compulsory  arbiiratioii  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  strife  and  contention. 

3. — Arrogance  and  oppression  arouse  in  those  who  come  under  their 
lash  the  same  feeling  that  is  produced  in  man  by  a  painful  application 
of  the  whip  to  the  body.  The  first  impression  is  a  feeling  of  resis- 
tance. In  the  physical  sense  nature  has  endowed  man  with  pain  which 
is  a  v.'arning  to  him  that  an  attack  is  made  perhaps  to  destroy  exis- 
tence, against  which  he  immediately  musters  his  forces,  debates,  ex- 
amines all  points  by  which  he  may  make  a  successful  defense  and  thus 
save  himself.  Man's  ethical  nature,  if  insulted,  recoils  and  does  the 
same  thing  as  in  the  instance  of  physical  invasion  of  his  rights.  The 
.true  man  never  gives  offense  to  his  fellow-brother.  Those  who  are  so 
,far  lost  to  humanity  as  to  trespass  on  the  rights  of  others  are  liable  to  a 
trial  by  a  tribunal,  established  by  the  people  for  the  specific  purpose  of 
maintaining^  law  and  order.  To  harmonize  incongruous  elements  in 
society,  who  are  a  source  of  social  disturbance,  no  one  will  question 
the  right  to  legislate  enactments  by  which  to  preserve  social  integrity 
and  thus  also  perpetuate  the  sovereignty  of  the  state. 

.  4. — In  the  natural  order  of  things,  in  the  evolution  of  civilization, 
human  history  dates  back  to  a  time  when  the  strongest  and  the  most 
skilled  in  the  struggle  for  existence  survived  the  longest.  Quarrels  were 
then  settled  by  herculean  "  peace-makers . ' '  All  the  world  from  time  im- 
memorial honored  the  peace-maker  and  there  never  was  a  time  when 
arbitration  was  not  in  demand. 

Prior  to  the  time  when  gunpowder  made  its  advent  as  a  peace-maker, 
"might  made  right. ' '  This  discovery  brought  men  on  a  common  level 
in  a  physical  sense.  The  era  of  firearms  transferred  the  power  that 
tribes  or  nations  possessed  in  primeval  times  from  muscle-rule  to  the 
plane  of  strategem  and  the  use  of  explosives  as  a  means  of  warfare. 
By  the  continued  improvement  in  implements  of  war,  such  an  expedi- 
tious and  easy  way  of  taking  life  has  been  brought  about  in  modern  war- 
fares that  we  are  rapidly  approaching  a  n-.o  e  desirable  epoch  of  miyid- 
rule. 

All  former  means  of  settling  disputes  among  men,  which  we  denomi- 
nate the  era  of  brnte-rule,  will,  in  the  new  era,  be  taken  from  the  domain 
of  shot  and  shell  to  the  realm  of  the  intellect  wh^xc  social  difficulties  may 


CORPORATIONS   AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  69 

be  adjusted  b}'  conciliatory  means,  and  if  nothing  better  can  accomplish 
the  desired  end,  which  is  peace,  then  covipulsory  arbitration,  we  say, 
must  be  enforced.  It  is  better  this  than  civil  war.  Hence  at  this  junc- 
ture of  human  progress  there  can  be  nothing  more  laudable  than 
for  the  state  to  enact  needed  laws  to  assist  its  citizens  to  arbitrate 
and  settle  disputes  in  the  most  7nanly  manner  and  thus  entirely  obviate 
the  use  of  the  soldiery.  State  troops  in  the  new  era  will  be  only  an 
ornament.  The  exercise  in  the  maiinal  of  arms  is  healthful  and  is  a 
wonderful  school  for  developing  the  body — cesthetic  culture.  Thus  mil- 
itary organizations  will  be  retained  in  sociology  as  an  art  of  physical 
training  of  the  body  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  warfare,  as  hitherto  in 
vogue.  * 

5. — For  anyone  or  any  number  of  persons  to  step  forward  and  pre- 
vent a  serious  personal  quarrel,  or  to  separate  men  engaged  in  mortal 
combat,  or  to  stand  between  persons  so  enraged  that  they  may  do  no 
serious  bodily  injury,  has  always  been  held  to  be  ahumane  thing  to  do. 
The  laws  of  every  land  give  license  for  a  peace-loving  citizen  to  as- 
sume the  role  oi  "peace-maker"  when  occasion  demands  it.  Then 
how  can  the  public  consistently  stand  by  quietly  and  see  lock-outs  and 
strikes  running  on  for  months,  a  quarrel  which  brings  sorrow^  not  only 
to  those  directly  engaged,  but  to  the  general  public,  family  and  innocent 
children  ?  Why  not  in  this  enforce  settlement  ?  Is  there  any  reason 
why  the  state  should  not  become  ' '  peace-maker  ' '  ?  For  what  use  is 
the  commonwealth  ?  Let  the  state  put  an  immediate  quietus  on  such 
pig-headed  and  unwise  actions  of  these  infractions  elements  in  our 
social  system.  What  shall  we  do  ?  Call  out  the  state  troops  ?  Shoot 
down  one  or  the  other  ?  Settle  by  violence,  or  do  nothing  ?  Stand 
by  and  let  the  quarrel  go  on  until  one  or  the  other  is  frozen  out 
or  voluntarily  comes  to  some  kind  of  settlement  ?  Certainly  all  w^ho 
are  of  good  mind  will  join  us  in  a  more  humane  method.  Why  have 
we  a  government,  state  or  municipal,  or  why  have  laws  of  any  kind  if 
we  are  not  to  make  them  available  in  time  of  need  ?     We  say  the  very 


*  We  would  have  our  reader  think  of  the  wonderful  discoveries  and 
improvements  which  have  been  made  in  the  last  few  years  in  heavy 
artillery.  The  segmental  zvire  gun  (J.  Hamilton  Brown,  inventor)  is 
capable  of  sending  a  missile  six  miles  and  sink  an  armor-plated 
ship.  Then  think  of  the  Krupp  gun,  the  Winchester  and  Spring- 
field rifles,  smokeless  powder,  etc.,  and  we  are  again  brought 
face  to  face  with  a  nezv  era  as  we  before  remarked  ;  humanity  demands 
(since  the  easy  death-dealing  means  of  warfare  now  at  our  command) 
that  all  these  wonderful  impiements  of  war  arc  rcndend  useless  by  tak- 
ing the  wars  of  nations  out  of  the  corporeal  battlefields  and  transfer 
them  into  the  bloodless  realm  of  the  intellectual. 


70  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

best  thing  to  do  is  to  have  a  law  enforcing  arbitration  before  an  impar- 
tial labor  bureau,  legally  constituted,  and  thus  prove  to  the  world  that 
savagerj'  has  been  grandly  superseded  by  our  civil  institutions. 

6. — A  lawful  settlement  of  labor  differences  by  arbitration  is  a 
peaceful  measure.  There  will  be  no  need  for  state  troops,  or  a  state 
police,  or  sheriff's  posse  to  prevent  riots  or  to  quiet  outbreaks.  What 
matters  it  by  what  means  the  public  peace  is  sustained  if  at  the  same 
time  all  peoples  receive  their  just  dues  ?  Law  is  the  product  of  neces- 
sity. Law  is  also  arbitrary  in  a  sense,  but  if  law  is  based  on  first  prin- 
ciples it  is  alwaj's  just  and  right.  If  all  peoples  lived  up  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  ''golden  rule'''  there  would  be  no  need  of  law.  Law  is 
forced  conciliation.  A  man  of  our  acquaintance,  not  a  habitual  drunk- 
ard, but  at  an  ungarded  social  good  time,  with  friends,  on  a  new  year's 
day,  became  inebriated,  and  though  a  very  fine  gentleman  by  birth  and 
education,  became  very  abusive  and  combative  under  the  influence  of 
liquor,  so  that  nothing  short  of  handcuffs  and  a  prison  cell  could  be 
done  to  control  him,  where  he  was  allowed  to  "  sober  up."  When  he 
came  to  himself  and  learned  what  had  taken  place  he  said  "that  he 
was  glad  that  he  was  imprisoned  for  he  might,  in  his  inebriated  condi- 
tion, have  done  some  one  serious  harm." 

Compulsory  conciliatory  measures  may  seem  contradictory,  but  at 
least  all  right  thinking  people  will  be  thankful,  for  this  will  save  to 
them  a  court  case  or  the  loss  of  much  money,  valuable  time  and  bitter 
feelings.  The  state  of  Pennsylvania  had  to  foot  a  bill  ot  over  $225,000 
to  keep  the  peace  at  Homestead.  The  entire  Homestead  affair  was 
most  disgraceful  to  an  intelligent  people.  If  compulsory  arbitration 
had  been  in  vogue  millions  of  money  and  many  lives  might  have  been 
saved. 

7, — Covipulsory  arbitration  has  been  tried  in  north  of  England  and 
other  places  and  always  works  well.  It  is  rational,  it  is  right;  the 
aim  is  equity  ;  it  will  prevent  arbitrary  rule  on  the  one  hand  and  vio- 
lence on  the  other  ;  it  is  manly  and  humane  ;  it  does  not  engender  re- 
venge ;  it  is  not  a  court  where  a  judge  of  law  presides  ;  its  only  law  is 
written  in  every  man — equity,  justice. 

For  many  other  reasons  it  is  right.  It  is  the  best  for  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  Christian  or  pagan,  and  should  be  established  in  every  state 
in  the  Union  and  people  educated  up  to  it  and  put  a  stop  to  this  ever- 
lasting quarrel  between  capital  and  labor. 

8. — Considering  the  vast  number  of  wage-earners  now  in  the  United 
States  and  cheap  lal)or  imported  daily,  the  frequent  lock-outs  and  strikes 
with  their  terrible  consequences,  it  behooves  the  people  at  once  to  get 


CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  7 1 

to  work  and  fall  into  line  that  will  bring  about  a  more  amicable  rela- 
tion between  labor  and  capital. 

Let  no  man  harbor  revenge,  though  he  may  have  been  greatly  in- 
jured. Lord  Bacon  says  :  "Certainly,  in  taking  revenge,  a  man  is  but 
even  with  his  enemy,  but  in  passing  it  over  he  is  his  superior,  for  it  is 
a  prince's  part  to  pardon."  The  same  author  says  further:  "That 
which  is  past  is  gone  and  cannot  be  recalled,  and  wise  men  have 
enough  to  do  with  things  present  and  to  come  ;  therefore  they  but 
trifle  with  themselves  that  labor  in  past  matters."  Solomon  says  :  "It 
is  the  glory  of  a  man  to  pass  by  an  offense." 

That  the  business  of  this  country  requires  for  its  safe  management 
the  highest  statesmanship  cannot  be  too  deeply  impressed  on  our  read- 
ers. Everyone  for  himself  should  study  the  subject  unbiased  by  any 
preconceived  notions  and  take  up  the  subject  as  it  presents  itself  and 
be  sure  you  are  right  before  you  come  to  a  final  conclusion.  Also  re- 
member that  what  may  seem  to  you  to  be  the  right  course  to  pursue 
may  not  seem  so  clear  to  another ;  therefore  the  cultivation  of  the 
greatest  virtue  in  the  fullest  sense  is  charity.  Once  this  faculty  gain- 
ing control  of  the  hearts  of  men  the  fruit  it  will  yield  will  be  reassur- 
ing in  the  hope  of  a  glorious  ending  in  peace  and  happiness  awaiting 
the  American  people,  but  vigilance  must  be  the  watchword  and  now  is 
the  time  to  act  before  it  is  too  late  ;  therefore  do  not  let  the  oppor- 
tunity pass  by  unimproved  and  think  that  you  individually  can  do 
nothing.  We  need  the  help  of  every  man  and  woman.  We  believe 
that  compulsory  arbitratio)i  will  be  the  stepping-stone  to  a  condition  of 
our  social  system  when  this  method  will  be  displaced  by  purely  volun- 
tary conciliatory  measures,  which  will  be  the  order  of  settling  dis- 
putes. The  greed  of  man  will  then  be  materially  modified  and  by 
practical  lessons  we  will  learn  that  it  is  far  better  to  agree  on  a  system 
of  government  of  political  economy  that  will  make  none  very  rich  and 
none  very  poor. 

9. — There  are  those  who  say  that  the  state  cannot  force  people  to 
arbitrate.  We  say  the  state  has  a  right  to  make  any  needed  law  that 
will  secure  peace  and  happiness  to  its  citizens.  Every  decade  brings 
with  it  circumstances  and  conditions  which  call  for  special  legislation 
and  it  is  the  dicty  of  the  legislature  to  fill  the  indication.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  there  is  great  demand  for  legal  regulation  of  the  labor  trouble 
to  prevent  men,  who  have  not  humanity  as  a  ruling  principle  in  their 
hearts,  from  grinding  each  other  to  the  quick.  The  state  has  always  a 
right  to  legislate  and  pass  needed  laws  to  assure  ' '  the  greatest  good  to 
the  greatest  number." 


72  CORPORATIONS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

10. — It  is  unfortunate  for  the  laboring  classes  that  they  are  not  bet- 
ter informed  regarding  personal  economy.  As  a  rule  few  provide  for 
the  winter.  During  the  summer  when  there  is  demand  for  labor  and 
plenty  of  money,  is  always  a  golden  opportunity  to  provide  for  the 
winter,  but  too  often  neglected. 

Then  it  is  still  more  unfortunate,  not  alone  as  far  as  the  workmen  are 
concerned,  but  the  general  public,  that  operators  engaged  in  mining 
and  other  industrial  institutions  to  shut  down  in  the  fall  or  in  the  win- 
ter and  thus  throw  out  of  work  thousands  of  people  at  a  time  when 
they  are  in  greatest  need  and  should  have  employment. 

11, — Rev.  Lyman  Abbott,  D.  D.,  writes  in  the  "  Arena  "  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  we  take  great  pleasure  to  quote  from  this  great  thinker  a  few 
paragraphs  in  support  of  our  position.  He  says  :  "Compulsory  arbi- 
tration is  simply  the  application  to  settlement  of  industrial  controversies 
of  the  same  essential  principle  which  is,  throughout  the  civilized  world, 
employed  for  the  settlement  of  other  controversies.  It  devolves  upon 
those  who  do  not  believe  that  this  principle  can  be  applied  to  show  why 
it  is  inapplicable."  Of  course  there  are  serious  objections,  and  this,  he 
says,  "  is  generally  the  case  to  any  plan  proposed  for  securing  peace  in 
a  community,  the  individual  members  of  which  are  covetous,  selfish, 
passionate,  ambitious."  The  same  writer  says  that  "Compulsory 
arbitration  is  a  specific  for  labor  troubles.  The  question  is  not  :  Are 
there  difficulties  involved  in  compulsory  arbitration  ?  but.  Would  those 
difficulties  be  greater  than  those  involved  in  a  system  which  keep  labor 
and  capital  always  alternating  between  open  battle  and  an  armed  truce, 
and  which,  in  one-half  year,  has  inflicted  on  the  two  great  States  of 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  the  great  labor  wars  of  Homestead  and 
Buffalo  ?  There  is  no  radical  cure  for  labor  trouble  but  character 
transformed  and  conduct  controlled  by  Christian  principles.  Mean- 
while compulsory  arbitration  is  a  device  to  protect  the  innocent  from 
the  injuries  inflicted  upon  them  by  those  whose  character  and  conduct 
are  not  controlled  by  Christian  principles,  nor  even  by  those  of  Moses 
or  Confucius,  but  by  the  devil's  maxim — '  Every  man  for  himself.'  " 

12. — We  wish  our  reader  to  remember  that  our  suggestion  on  this 
grievous  question,  looking  toward  a  final  and  peaceful  ending,  is  voicing 
the  sentiment  of  a  very  large  majority  of  our  best  thinkers  in  the  United 
States,  and  all  that  is  required  is  a  little  more  agitation  and  a  personal 
eflfort  of  every  good  citizen,  and  it  will  not  be  a  difficult  task  to  ulti- 
mately win  on  the  side  of  right.  The  profession  of  the  demagogue 
will,  in  that  da3^  be  no  moie,  for  it  will  be  unlawful  to  "lobby" 
through  our  Legislatures  or  Congress  laws  in  the  interest  of  capital  or 
in  the  interest  of  any  particular  class. 


TflRlFf,  PEOPLES  AND  WflGE= WORKERS. 


Wrong-  Government ;  A  Good  Government  ;  The  Best  Pol- 
icy ;  Tax  or  License ;  Protective  Tariff ;  Free  Trade  ; 
Revenue  ;  Constitutionality ;  Effect  on  Trade  and  Wages; 
National  Tariff  Bureau  ;  Purifying  Politics  ;  Etc. 


"  Divide  et  Inipera.''  In  English  this  means  "  Divide  and  Govern." 
"  This  is  the  policy  of  almost  all  governments.  By  dividing  a  nation 
into  parties,  poisoning  them  against  each  other,  the  people  are  deprived 
■of  their  intrinsic  weight,  and  their  rulers  incline  the  scale  as  suits  their 
caprice  or  discretion." 

iVll  liumau  institutions  to  stand 
P  '   must  be  founded  on  our  intuitive 

sense  of  right  The  virtue  of  our  nature  at  once  gives  sup- 
port to  a  law  agreeing  with  some  one  of  our  feelings  that 
harmonize  with  it,  and  when  these  primary  tests  of  right  are 
ignored  in  framing  our  laws,  such  laws  will  not  stand,  for 
the  reason  that  the  foundation  is  not  good. 

An}'  S3'stem  of  government  is  wrong  under  the  regime  of 
which  a  single  individual  can  accumulate,  by  whatsoever 
business  may  be  pursued,  thirty  or  fort}-  million  dollars. 
Even  the  possibilitj^  of  centralizing  such  great  wealth  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  is  dangerous  to  the  liberty'  and  welfare  of  the 
people.  It  is  not  a  good  government,  Ave  say,  where  such 
things  are  possible.  Great  wealth  is  Imperial,  ]Monarchial, 
and  begets  Anarchial  sentiment  among  the  people. 

,,,  ^  It  is  a  factor,  recognized  by  the 

Wrong  Government,  j^^^;,,^    ^^^.^^^^^  ^^^^   ..^^^^^^^    j^ 

power."  If  it  is  in  the  hands  of  a  philanthropist  no  wrong 
need  be  feared,  but  in  the  hands  of  a  Shylock  there  is  no 
divining  the  possible  evil  that  may  result,  not  only  to  local 
•communities,  where  such  wealth  is  activel}^  operated,  but  to 
the  general  government.     The  base  use  of  money  can  so 


74  TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS. 

corrupt  politics  that  all  tlie  grand  principles  for  wliicli  our 
fathers  so  manfully  fought  may  be  swept  away  like  a  Johns- 
town flood.  The  bulwarks  of  a  great  dam  gradually  giving 
way,  continually  menacing  the  safety  of  the  people,  and 
when,  at  last,  the  crash  comes  like  athunderbolt,  it  carries  de- 
struction in  its  way.  Then  a  people  who  are  wide  awake  to 
their  best  iuterests,  and  who  desire  to  perpetuate  those  laws 
and  institutions,based  on  the  natural  rights  of  man,  attained  by 
the  blood  of  the  founders  of  our  government,  must  restrain 
the  menacing  powers  which  threaten  the  life  of  the  nation, 
and  avert  the  danger  in  a  practical  manner  by  repealing  all 
laws  which  aid,  and  possibly  foster,  destruction,  and  enact 
laws  that  will  bring  liberty  and  happiness  to  the  greatest 
number. 

.  In    a    sermon  a  celebrated 

A  Clergyman  of  Chicago.^j^^gy^^^^^    ^j.    Chicago    said 

that  "no  man  can  make  a  million  dollars  during  the  natural 
life  allotted  to  him,  and  make  it  honestly,  not  even,  strictly 
speaking,  can  it  be  made  legitimately,  and  surely  not  mor- 
ally." This  we  believe  to  be  the  truth  ;  no  man  can  acquire 
such  great  wealth,  however  extensive  his  business  may  be,, 
if  he  follow^s  the  "  golden  rule." 

There  are  those  who  amass  great  fortunes,  who,  neverthe- 
less, keep  within  the  purview  of  the  law  in  all  their  busi- 
ness transactions,  and  yet  are  all  the  while  robbing  their 
fellow-men  of  what  is  honestly  their  due. 

This  is  easil}^  done.  The 
Homestead  Steelworks.  Homestead  Steelworks  are  eon- 
verted,  or  re-organized,  under  a  legal  charter,  it  is  true,  into- 
a  couipany  (or  organized  corporation)  on  a  large  scale,  (com- 
bining capital),  and,  as  we  have  elsewhere  state  1,  works  of 
this  sort  require  an  immense  capital,  even  to  purchase  the 
machinery  indispensable  to  start  the  works  at  all,  but  this 
is  no  reason  why  moral  and  individual  obligaticnis  should 
not  be  in  full  force,  as  with  tlic  rest  of  huuianity  who  man- 
age a  very  much  smaller  portion  of  the  affairs  of  this  woi"ld. 
As  a  rule  these  gigantic  coiuhiuc;  are  placed  under  the  con- 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  75 

trol  of  a  so-called  management,  or  agent,  whose  moral  obli- 
gations are  regnlated,  or  rather  relieved,  by  the  combine  or 
company,  which  in  many  instances  is  so  in  name  only,  for 
the  pnrpose  of  making-  moral  responsibility  anonymous, 
while  the  head,  or  those  who  furnish  the  capital,  may  be 
taking  their  ease  in  luxury  in  foreign  lands  or  at  the  sea- 
side, or  travel  for  pleasure. 

Apparently  a  very  conscientious  man,  one  who  gives  much 
to  the  poor,  often  receives  encomiums  of  the  press  for  his 
philanthrophy  and  public  spirit,  but  how  does  he  obtain  his 
wealth  ?  He  has  some  capital.  This  is  invested  in  a  vari- 
ety store  or  some  trust  company.  The  undercurrent  of 
these  combines  is  not  apparent,  at  least  not  to  the  super- 
ficial observer,  until  by  the  unnatural  accumulation  of  great 
wealth  their  power  is  beginning  to  be  felt  by  the  money 
gradually  leaving  the  pockets  of  the  people  and  pouring 
into  the  coffers  of  these  institutions.  These  corporations 
have  no  soul.  There  is  no  compunction  of  conscience,  for 
this  faculty  has  been  ruled  out  by  the  scheme  on  which  the 
organization  was  formed.  Legally  no  member  of  such  or- 
ganization can  be  indicted  even  for  the  most  apparent  infrac- 
tion of  the  law. 

»T  i  r^  o  •  ^  1  TT  i  Then  we  would  say  here  that 
Not  Safe  in  Such  Hands.  ,     .         ■"    •   . 

no  one  who  has  any  interest, 

either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  a  trust  company  or  a  great 
corporation  or  combine  of  anj^  kind,  should  be  considered 
eligible  for  membership  to  State  Legislature  or  Congress. 
The  interests  of  the  people  are  not  safe  in  such  hands. 

When  we  come  to  look  the  ground  over  and  view  the  sub- 
ject from  an  equitable  standpoint,  you  will  soon  learn  the 
moral  impossibility  for  a  man  to  make  a  million  of  dollars 
in  the  short  space  of  a  lifetime,  to  say  nothing  of  making 
thirt}^,  fifty  or  a  hundred  millions.  Then  we  say  again, 
that  there  is  something  not  altogether  right  in  a  govern- 
ment where  men  can  do  this.  Of  course  a  man  may  "strike 
oil,  "  as  the  saying  goes  ;  or  by  accident  open  a  rich  mine ; 


76  TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

or  make  a  great  discovery  as  Edison  did  ;  or  make  an  invest- 
ment in  a  few  acres  of  land  and  a  cit\'  is  bnilt  about  him, 
whereby  he  may  become  a  millionaire,  but  the  point  in  hand 
is,  can  a  man  honestly  make  millions  in  carr3'ing  on  busi- 
ness in  a  judicious  and  equitable  manner?  Good  business 
principles  make  money,  but  it  also  makes  it  honorably. 
The  moment  you  leave  these  boundaries  you  pass  into  tlie 
realm  of  the  gambler,  the  Sh^'lock,  and  }•(  n  depart  from 
good,  honorable  and  equitable  business  principles.  In  a 
true  government,  then,  law  must  support  only  those  efforts 
of  its  citizens  which  come  within  the  purview  of  the  elements 
or  attributes  of  the  capitalist  who  is  willing  to  take  the  pro- 
fits of  a  business  conducted  on  equal  chances  with  his  fel- 
low-beings who  are  also  in  business.  All  other  institutions, 
such  as  we  have  .outlined,  which  secretly  and  ultimately 
drain  the  pockets  of  the  people  of  their  equivalent  in  trade, 
and  where  it  is  evident  that  there  exists  a  focal-point  of  at- 
traction for  the  dollars  to  accumulate  in  undue  proportion, 
should  be  carefully  demarcated  in  all  legal  bearings,  and  if 
they  cannot  be  regulated  so  as  to  keep  within  the  limita- 
tion boundary  line  of  equal  rights,  equal  chance,  all  things 
being  equal,  then  such  institutions  had  better  be  entirel}^ 
prohibited  by  law. 

-T-       cc  r^  r  ^        t-1  One  of  the  most  prominent 

Tarm,  Cause  of  Trouble  r  ^^       ^  ■ 

causes    ot    the    stagnation    of 

business  in  this  country  is  the  almost  ceaseless  agitation  of 
the  tariff  question.  Our  endeavor  to  solve  the  Labor  Prob- 
lem would  be  almost  futile  should  we  not  dwell  upon  this 
subject  in  its  different  phases,  and  demonstrate  the  truth  in 
its  political  bearings  on  the  question  at  issue. 

We  acknowledge  that  we  enter  upon  the  discussion  of 
this  subject  with  some  hesitation  and  with  a  full  sense  of 
responsibility,  feeling  the  burden  heavil}-  as  we  approach  a 
task  freighted  with  the  mental  ballast  of  statesmen  and 
philosopher.  But  m'c  cannot  for  one  moment  entertain  the 
idea  of  passing  this  milestone  on  our  way,  which  is  one  of 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  77 

the  most  prominent,  pointing  the  way  to  the  path  of  safety 
in  the  labyrinthian  road  to  national  prosperity,  and  is  one 
of  the  great  breakers  over  which  the  "ship  of  state"  finds 
so  much  trouble  to  pass  safely,  bounded  as  it  is  with  its  la- 
bor troubles. 

This  subject  must  in  some  legal  way  be  brought  under 
healthy  management  in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  a  free 
and  prosperous  government,  such  as  the  constitution  of  our 
country  offers  to  all  its  citizens. 

_  _         __  In  the  course  of  every  four  years 

Every  Four  Years.  ^      .    ^      x.i  j     •.,  .^  \ 

-'  our  country  is  troubled  with  the  pros 

and  cons  of  a  hitherto  imapproached  or  unsettled  financial 
question  bearing  on  the  tariff,  creating  a  disturbance  and 
commotion  in  our  financial  affairs,  which  after  each  present- 
ment leaves  the  situation  of  our  commercial  and  industrial 
interests  in  a  more  threatening  and  hopeless  condition  than 
before.  If  it  were  not  for  the  many  personal  or  private  in- 
terests involved  in  levying  a  tariff  on  so  many  different  com- 
modities, it  would  not  be  so  difl&cult  to  determine  a  correct 
basis  by  which  other  internal  legislation  might  be  governed, 
in  order  to  do  justice  to  all  peoples  concerned,  for  it  is  plain 
that  each  presidential  campaign  seems  only  to  embar- 
rass the  business  community.  The  various  political  par- 
ties seem  to  use  the  different  issues  as  a  simple  play  of 
political  cricket.  Platforms  are  erected  and  plastered  over 
with  flaming  posters  full  of  "Tariff  Reform, "  for  or  against 
its  characters  or  "  principles,  "  so  systematically  arranged 
as  political  puppets  that  voters  cannot  distinguish  Jack 
from  Jill,  and  thus  parties  gain  or  lose  control  in  the 
governmental  departments,  not  by  honest  means,  but  by 
such  subterfuge  as  demagogues  resort  to  for  their  own  per- 
sonal aggrandizement  instead  of  national  or  universal  bene- 
fit. The  people  may  by  chance  be  present  and  hear  these 
bombastic  speeches  in  favor  of  a  protective  tm^iff^  a  tanjj 
for  reverme  only^  or  out  and  out  free  trade. 

Vast  sums  of  money  are  periodically  spent  to  defray  the 


78  TARIFF,    PEOPLEvS    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

expenses  of  the  piratical  leaders  and  for  their  gladiatorial 
rehearsals  in  the  political  arena  to  amuse  the  public.  Noth- 
ing more  modest  can  be  truthfull}^  said  of  these  campaign 
figure  hcads^  as  far  as  real  education  of  the 
Figure  Heads.  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  subject  of  tariff  is  con- 
cerned. From  them  thus  far  no  intelligent  understanding 
of  the  subject  has  been  reached. 

Surely  if  the  government  can  once  decide  on  a  reliable 
course  to  settle  the  question  of  an  import  tax  that  will  be 
permanent,  so  that  it  cannot  be  assailed  and  altered  ever 
and  anon  for  partisan  gain  or  advantage,  thereby  checking 
the  onward  course  of  commerce  and  blasting  the  confidence 
of  business  men,  then  we  may  expect  better  times,  a  more 
harmonious  feeling  and  a  greater  activity  among  the  people 
all  over  the  country. 

The   tariff  question   is    so 
A  Presidential  Campaign,  p.^^.^^^  ^  ^.^bject  that  the 

short  space  of  a  presidential  campaign  does  not  give  time 
enough  even  to  teach  the  people  the  A  B  C  of  a  subject  in 
which  the  general  public  should  be  properly  informed  and 
thoroughly  educated.  On  the  "stump"  it  is  treated  at  best 
only  in  a  superficial  manner  and  never  free  from  party  pre- 
j  udices. 

The  proper  management  of  the  financial  department  of  a 
government  is  one  of  almost  Herculean  labor.  The  most 
famous  statesmen  have  been  found  wanting  in  this  under- 
taking. The  idea  of  d.  protective  tariff  involves  so  many  in- 
tricate points,  so  many  financial  problems,  that  even  good 
statesmanship  finds  entanglements  in  the  network  of  var- 
ious business  departments,  irreconcilable  in  theory  and 
practice,  to  puzzle  it.  Therefore,  taking  a  philosophical 
view  of  the  subject,  it  at  once  becomes  apparent  to  the  think- 
ing mind  that  a  subject  so  intricate  and  difficult  to  handle, 
involving  so  much  of  vital  importance  to  all  classes,  should  not 
be  entrusted  to  the  shallow  brains  and  personal  manipula- 
tion of  office  hunters,  but  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  79 

a  board  of  censors^  whose  business  it  sliall 
Office  Hunters.  ^^  ^^  manage  tlie  "import  duty"  busi- 
ness of  tlie  nation,  and  tlius  take  this  question  out  of  pop- 
ular politics  altogether. 

The  sole  and  exchisivc  business  of  this  biereajt  should  be 
to  study  the  vital  points  of  an  all-beneficial  tarijf.  Is  it  not 
reasonable  to  come  to  this  conclusion  when  we  know  that 
the  general  public  is  too  much  pre-occupied  with  its  mani- 
fold affairs  to  give  ample  time  to  acquire  proper  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  in  order  to  cast  an  intelligent  vote  for  or 
against  in  whatever  form  it  may  be  presented — though  the 
question  seemingly  may  be  stated  plainly  in  the  different 
political  party  platforms? 

___.  Those  who  go  forth  to  pre- 

Wants  His  Side  to  Win.  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^j^  ^^^. 

ject  as  a  campaign  issue  are,  in  many  instances,  governed 
by  personal  interests,  or  the  simple  desire  to  have  their  party 
win,  much  the  same  as  a  man  owning  a  fine  horse  desires 
to  see  his  steed  win  the  race,  because  of  the  monej^  he  will 
make  and  the  sport  and  gratification  it  will  give  him. 

Persons  wishing  a  point  of  law  decided  would  not  be  will- 
ing to  submit  it  to  the  issue  of  a  political  campaign.  They 
would  at  once  submit  the  matter  to  a  proper  j  udiciary  tri- 
bunal, whose  legal  function  and  onl}^  business  is  to  decide 
questions  of  law. 

,  _.  .  There  is  both  extortion  and 

Extortion  and  Distortion."  ^^^^^^^^^  -^  pontics;  extor- 

tion  in  funds,  in  and  out,  assessing  for  the  purpose  of  cam- 
paign funds,  and  distortion  of  truth,  outside  especially. 
Politicians  *  so  cut  up,  mangle  and  distort  the  truth,  as  a 
rule,  that  the  general  public,  whose  special  business,  study 
or  reading  does  not  include  political  econom}^,  is  scarcely 

*  The  proper  definition  of  the  term  ' '  poUtician  ' '  is  one  who  is  versed 
in  statesmanship,  and  the  term  "  politics  "  means  the  "  doctrine  "  or 
science  of  government.  A  perverter  of ' '  pohtics  "  is  a  "  demagogue, " 
and  hence  we  often  speak  of  politicians  in  the  popular  acceptation  of 
the  term  when  we  should  use  the  term  "  demogogue." 


8o  TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

sufficiently  informed  on  the  subject  to  detect  even  the  most 
apparent  discrepancies  or  falsehoods  advanced.  And  even 
should  they  be  bereft  of  this  campaign  weapon  of  falsifica- 
tion, party  politics  would  still  stand  in  the  way  of  an  honest, 
unprejudiced  decision  on  the  vital  question  at  issue. 

Comparatively  speaking  but  very  few  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States  know  much  about  the  tariff  question  and 
its  vital  importance,  especially  regarding  a  protective  tarijff^ 
and,  moreover,  will  learn  but  little  about  it  until  the  effect 
becomes  apparent  ofttimes  when  it  is  too  late  to  correct  the 
mistake  made  by  wrong  legislation  if  such  there  be.  Hence 
it  would  be  far  better  for  the  people  to  leave  this  question 
entirely  out  of  campaign  politics  as  an  issue  to  be  decided 
by  voters  who  know  but  little  about  the  subject  of  taj'iff^ 
and  especially  is  this  true  of  newly-made  citizens  whose  ed- 
ucation on  political  economy  in  some  foreign  land  has  been 
diameterically  opposite  to  our  own. 

.     .        -D   i-i.-  This  will  also  make  our  elections 

Purifying  Politics.  ^^^^^  Republican,  favoring  candidates 
simply  for  their  intrinsic  merits,  for  president  or  any  other 
prominent  position,  and  framing  distinctive  part}^  plat- 
forms on  current  national  matters,  making  them  as  simple 
and  comprehensive  as  possible. 

As  it  now  is  parties  enter  the  contest  with  nothing  in  \dew 
but  a  place  in  the  White  House,  regardless  of  the  difference 
in  tariff,  high  or  low,  protective  or  for  "revenue  only,"  or 
free  trade  altogether,  and  how  all  may  effect  the  country  so 
the  point  is  gained.  Whichever  party  can  hoodwink  the 
people  most  will  "carry  the  day,"  while  in  either  case  busi- 
ness centers  will  be  so  greatly  disturbed  that  it  will  take  a 
year  or  two  to  restore  its  equilibrium,  and  then  before  the 
country  fully  recovers  from  the  jar  another  campaign  opens 
and  the  sad  story  is  repeated. 

The  proper  way  out  of  this  national  morass  is,  we  firmly 
believe,  to  vest  our  financial  tariff  destiny  in  a  NATIONAI, 
TARIFF  BUREAU. 


FRANK  P.  SARGENT. 
Plate  Vll-Por  sketch  see  page  220. 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  8l 

For  tlie  purpose  of  regulating  all  2m- 
Customs  Bureau.  ^^^.^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^-^^  ^^^.^^-^  ^^^  ^^^^^i^^ 

of  a  protective  tariff,  so  as  to  take  it  entirely  out  oftlie  poli- 
tics of  tlie  country,  let  there  be  established,  as  before  sug- 
gested, a  national  bureau,  Avhose  duty  it  shall  be  to  adjust 
and  regulate  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  levying  or  impos- 
ing of  a  so-called  "tariff"  or  "duty"  on  commodities  im- 
ported from  foreign  countries  and  intended  to  enter  our 
markets. 

This  board,  we  would  further  suggest,  should  be  com- 
posed of  twelve  fully  qualified  members,  to  be  elected  by  Con- 
gress and  approved  by  the  president.  Or  the  members  of 
this  board  may  be  appointed  by  the  president — as  it  may 
seem  best  in  the  good  judgment  of  the  framers  of  this  bureau; 
at  all  events  the  chairman  should  be  appointed  by  the 
president  and  become  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  as  secretary 

of  ciLstoins.     In  our  own  opinion 
A  New  Cabinet  Officer.   ^^.^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  appointment  of  the 

members  of  this  "  tariff  bureau "  by  Congress,  save  the 
chairman,  who  should  be  appointed  by  the  president  and 
who  shall  be  known  as  the  '^secretary  of  customs^^  and  by 
this  act  becomes  an  additional  member  of  the  Cabinet.  The 
members  of  this  bureau,  we  would  further  suggest,  slrould 
be  selected  from  the  four  grand  divisions  of  the  Union, 
namely,  from  the  East,  West,  North  and  South,  and  thus 
bring  together  socialogical  needs  and  views  of  the  most  ma- 
tured thoughts  developed  by  environment  and  conditions  of 
a  people  who  are  bound  together  by  a  common  interest  ap- 
pertaining to  keeping  together  the  nation  as  one  family,  yet 
in  detail  there  are  many  local  conditions  demanding  repre- 
sentation in  the  bureau  of  social  and  commercial  regulations 
of  the  greatest  returns  possible  to  the  local,  as  well  as  the 
the  general  public.     The  term  of  office  to  be  four  years,  the 

sessions  of  this  board  to  be  held 
Secretary  of  Customs.  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  viembers 

of  the  House  of  Representatives.  All  its  rulings  shall  be 
unanimous  and  signed  by  the  president. 


82  TARIFF,    PEOrLES   AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

The  duties  of  the  secretary  of  customs  or  "  tariff  bureau  " 
shall  be  defined  by  the  ordinary  parliamentary  rules  as  those 
of  the  chairman,  and  he  shall  make  true  and  faithful  re- 
ports of  the  doings  of  this  board  to  the  judiciary  and  exec- 
utive departments.  Or  the  proper  legal  transaction  of  this 
board  should  be  submitted  to  Congress,  and  we  think  it 
would  not  be  unwise  for  the  acts  passed  by  the  r?/j/(9?;2  bureau^ 
to  pass  Congress  in  the  regular  order,  the  same  as 
other  acts,  which  by  such  passage  and  the  final  signature  of 
the  president  shall  become  law.  One  desidcratutn  above  all 
others  in  connection  with  the  furtherance  of  our  object  in 
securing  honest  and  just  legislation  for  and  in  behalf  of  a 
protective  /^rz^is  that  this  customs  bureau  in  all  its  functions 
and  rulings  shall  h^  purely  and  eittirely  non-par tisaji.  We 
regard  this  as  the  most  vital  and  essential  principle  of  a 
good  and  successful  government — cool  deliberation  and  free- 
dom from  all  party  prejudices.  The  ruling  thought  in  the 
adoption  of  means  and  ways  will  then  not  be  what  "my 
party  desires  in  the  matter,"  but  what  is  good,  right  and  for 
the  benefit  of  all  parties.  Experience  shows  that  there  is 
an  everpresiding  tendency  of  parties  and  majorities  to  exert 
their  power  and  thence  arises  the  necessity  of  an  ever  vigi- 
lant watchfulness  to  restrain  those  in  power  or  to  select  only 
true  and  good  men  to  make  or  amend  our  laws. 
,     .    ,.     .  The  duty  of  the  customs  bureau  should  be 

to  investigate,  regulate,  amend,  relieve  or  im- 
pose such  duty  or  tariff  on  all  commodities  coming  under  the 
head  of  importation,  and  as  it  may  seem  proper  in  the  best 
judgment  of  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  members  consti- 
tuting said  bureau  and  always  in  the  best  interests  of  the 
whole  people  of  the  United  States  and  in  accordance  with 
the  spirit  of  the  constitution  and  never  favoring  a  class  or  a 
political  part}'. 

*  We  very  much  favor  the  name  we  here  use  as  being  most  proper 
and  best  understood  for  it  at  once  expresses  its  function.  Then  let  it 
be  "  customs  burcaii,'"  and  its  chairman  legally  is  secretary  of  customs 
and  a  Cabinet  officer. 


TARIFF,    PFOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  83 

It  should  be  remembered  always  that  this  bureau  sball 
liave  no  paramount  authority  or  jurisdiction  over  internal 
revenue  in  any  sense.  All  tariff  for  revenue  only  and  all 
internal  revenue  shall  remain  under  the  management  about 
as  it  is  now  in  vogvie.  We  simply  desire  the  tariff  question, 
or  all  legislation  on  the  subject,  to  be  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  politicians — using  the  word  in  the  popular  sense — and 
placed  in  the  keeping  of  non-partisan  and  honest  statesmen. 
No  import  duty  should  ever  be  imposed 
Import  Duty.  -^  times  of  peace  for  the  purpose  of  "rev- 
enue only."  This  levying  taxes  simply  to  fill  the  treasury, 
then  employing  it  that  it  may  be  filled  again,  breeds  extrav- 
agance and  dishonesty.  But  whatever  legislation  may  be 
called  for  in  this  department  must  pass  through  this  cus- 
toms bureau,  or,  in  simpler  parlance,  all  legislation  of  a 
purely  revenue  character  does  not  come  under  the  supervi- 
sion of  this  bureau.  But  all  matters  relating  to  tariff  im- 
posed with  the  specific  purpose  of  protecting  our  people 
against  the  world  in  all  branches  of  industry  not  yet  fully  de- 
veloped^ and  not  yet  a  necessity  of  the  people  shall  be  under  their 
exclusive  jurisdiction.  Revenue  tax,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, is  not  on  that  account  a  protective  tariff 

The  members  of  this  bureau 
strictly  Non-Partisan.   ^,^^jj  ^^^,^   ,^^  ;»rr.<,««/  interest 

in  any  manufacture  of  commodities  coming  under  their  su- 
pervision of  whatever  kind  or  character,  either  directly  or 
indirectly.  The  entire  business  of  this  customs  bureau 
must  be  conducted  as  far  as  possible  on  absolutely  non-par- 
tisan principles. 

This  bureau  shall  set  apart  a  time  at  stated  intervals  dur- 
ing its  regular  sessions  for  the  purpose  of  giving  audience 
to  any  respectable  person  recommended  by  their  own  repre- 
sentative in  Congress  for  the  presentation  of  memorials,  es- 
says, lectures  or  addresses  on  any  subject  matter  bearing 
directly  upon  any  issue  before  them  or  any  proposition  for 
special  legislation  on  questions  pending  with  reference  to 
protective  tariff 


84  TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKER?. 

This  method  of  discussion  and  inter-change  of  ideas  upon 
the  subject  bearing  directly  on  this  question  will  do  mucli 
towards  removing  the  tariff  question  from  popular  politics 
and  enable  honest  statesmen  more  fully  to  familiarize  them- 
selves with  the  actual  wants  or  needs  and  ideas  of  the  people, 
and  enable  them  to  give  decisions  and  enact  laws,  influenced 
entirely  by  sound  judgment,  based  on  scientific  knowledge 
of  the  best  interests  of  all  unbiased  by  personal  interests  or 
campaign  harangues  to  distract  their  senses  b}-  garbled  pre- 
sentments of  political  requirements. 

A    i-i-i_    T-  We  take  this  position  on  the  ground 

A  Glib  Tongue.  ..    ,   .1     ,     •«•    ^-       •  ^ 

°  that  the  tariti  question  is  one  too  pro- 
found and  important  for  the  ordinary  mind  to  fully  compre- 
hend ;  especially  when  subjected  to  party  Don  Quixotes  glib 
tongue  to  discuss  it  to  the  disparagement  of  the  truth. 

There  is  no  other  subject  in  the  whole  province  of  polit- 
ical economy  which,  by  misrepresenting  of  facts,  tends  to 
cripple  business  as  much  as  the  unscientific  discussion  of 
the  tariff  by  these  office-Jntniivg  political  satraps  ;  bringing 
it  hydra-headed  to  the  front  every  four  3^ears  ! 

A  protective  tariff  would  be  a  beneficent  thing,  provided 
it  protects  labor  as  well  as  capital.  To  be  J7ist  the  enact- 
ment and  administration  of  law  must  affect  all  alike,  the 
poor  and  the  rich,  the  weak  and  the  strong.  If  a  given  law 
will  make  half  the  individual  members  of  the  country  five 
times  richer  than  they  are,  and  the  other  half  poorer  by  o7ie- 
fifths  the  whole  would  be  six  fold  richer,  but  it  would  be  rob- 
bing the  07ie-halfX.o  enrich  the  other  one-half.  That  is  pro- 
tective tariff  that  does  not  fully  protect. 

To  Unbar  Our  Water  Gates.  ,  ^°  '°"S  ^s  legislation 

lavors  one  class  only  by 
which  they  amass  a  fortune,  and  no  protection  is  given  to 
the  other,  whose  labor  is  indespensable  to  capital,  it  were 
better  for  our  government  to  unbar  its  zvater  gates  and  let 
the  tide  of  foreign  competition  roll  in  ;  let  the  supply  and 
demand  of  the  entire  world  regulate  our  markets,  yield  our 
sovereignty  and  collect  a  tax  for  revenue  only. 


TARIFF,    PEOrLES    AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  85 

This,  however,  is  not  our  ultimatiiin.  We  believe  in 
America  ruling  America.  Let  this  idea  be  universally  pro- 
claimed and  endorsed,  that  the  greatest  attainment  an 
American  citizen  aspires  to,  is  to  be,  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
term,  a  man.  True  to  himself,  generous  to  his  neighbor, 
but  at  all  times /;r^  to  tJiink^  free  to  vote^  and,  at  all  times, 
ready  to  do  battle  for  humanity  Mhen  in  the  right.  Those 
who  wish  to  come  to  us  from  foreign  shores  are  welcome 
here,  as  long  as  they  are  willing  to  come  under  restricted 
regulations  by  law,  and  are  willing  to  join  the  "rank  and 
file"  under  the  banner  that  represents  true  American 
principles.  * 

.  It  might  be  rz^/z/ to  adopt /rr<? 

Is  It  a  Good  Policy?  ^^.^^^^  ^^^^^  ;^  the  judgment  of  our 

best  statesmen,  would  it  be  good  policy  to  do  so  ?  But  until 
all  the  world  arrives  at  the  same  conclusion  from  which  an 
American  argues  his  rights  of  freedom,  it  would  not  be 
politic  to  establish  free  trade  until  all  nations  become  simi- 
larly conditioned  and  adopt  systems  of  government  founded 
on  Republican  principles^  where  labor  is  recognized  as  the 
peer  of  capital,  can  we  afford  to  open  our  ports  free  to  the 
commercial  world.  As  in  the  case  of  an  individual,  sclf- 
protectwn  is  the  first  law  of  nature.  So  a  nation  has  a  right, 
in  fact  it  is  a  duty,  to  protect  its  citizens  in  all  that  will 
assure  life,  liberty  and  happiness ;  though  now  and  then  a 
crisis  comes  when  it  is  justifiable  to  take  life,  but  the  primary 
object  is  to  exhaust  every  means  that  ma}'  maintain  peace 
before  such  an  alternative  is  resorted  to.  The  primary  object 
of  all  good  civil  government  is  the  protection  of  all  indi- 
viduals and  their  best  interests.  Free  trade  at  the  present 
time,  and  for  many  years  to  come,  would  be  in  violation  of 
these  principles,  though  ultimately  and  primarily  it  would 
be  right,  but  not  ?/;z/z7  conditions  and  systems  of  government 
of  other  nations  with  whom  we  have  commercial  intercourse 
are  similar  to  our  own. 

*  See  the  article  on  "immigration,"  also  on  "contract  labor"  in 
another  part  of  this  work. 


86  TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

Where  are  the  Dollars  ?      ^his  question  of  protective 

tarift,  however,  is  not  alto- 
getlier  the  direct  cause  of  the  trouble  we  would  here  have 
allayed.  The  direct  cause  is  inicrnaL  Tariff  is  levied  on 
a  commodity  in  order  to  protect  the  manufacturer  to  the  ex- 
tent of  the  amount  imposed  on  it.  He  does  not  actually 
pay  it ;  the  importer  does  not  really  foot  the  extra  bill.  The 
consumer  pays  it.  The  wage-worker  receives  no  more 
pay.  There  is  no  more  nor  less  money  in  the  country. 
But  in  a  few  years  there  is  more  money  in  certain  places. 
You  can  readily  perceive  the  rapid  increase  of  wealth  in 
America,  but  you  notice  it  is  in  the  hands  of  a  compara- 
tively few.     The  people  are  no  richer. 

Then  unless  there  is  a  correct  and  vigilant  legislation 
regulating  internal  affairs,  such  as  prohibiting  combinations 
and  the  formation  of  great  corporations,  who  by  this  means 
derive  the  power  to  control  the  markets  and  wages,  and  cer- 
tainly they  have  this  for  their  object  or  else  b}^  combining 
their  strength  there  would  be  no  advantage.  Such  a  tariff 
will  aid  in  creating  centres  towards  which  by  quiet  volition 
the  mass  of  the  dollars  are  drawn  as  unerringly  as  the 
electro-magnet  draws  the  particles  of  steel  and  iron  that 
come  within  its  radius  of  attraction.  This  is  dangerous,  it 
is  unfair  to  the  citizen,  consumer  and  the  wage-earner. 
This  is  the  way  to  make  monied-lords  and  moneyless  men. 

What  little  money  there  is  made  by  those  in  business  who 
are  willing  to  make  a  legitimate  profit,  and  who  are  not  in 
the  ring^  the  wage-earners,  and  we  may  say  the  masses,  are  by 
these  insidious  means  and  management  of  our  financial 
policy  made  to  pay  tribute  to  maintain  a  mouied  aristocracy, 
though  not  yet  so  large  or  strong  but  that  it  may  be  ar- 
rested in  its  course,  yet  all  that  is  needed  now  to  show  the 
perfection  of  its  evil  tendencies  is  to  pass  some  law  creating 
title  of  nobility,  attainable  by  so  many  dollars  in  American 
coin  the  same  as  they  are  furnished  in  Italy,  and  it  will  not 
take  many  decades  to  see  America  a  despotism  like  Russia,, 
or  a  hotbed  of  bandits  and  assassins  like  IvAy. 


TARIFF,    PEOPLFS   AND   WAGF-WORKERS.  87 

A  Mere  Luxury.  ^^^^  suppose  a  protective  tariff  to  be 
operative  as  the  term  implies — we  levy 
a  duty  on  a  commodity  of  industry,  a  mere  luxury  if  you 
will,  of  whicli  all  we  are  in  need  of  in  this  country  can  be 
produced  here,  the  price  of  which  is  regulated  by  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand,  and  then  some  one  residing  out  of  the 
United  States  can  and  does  manufacture  said  article  and 
wishes  to  open  trade  in  the  United  States  ;  our  government 
imposes  a  tax  or  license  on  this  intruder,  to  be  paid  into  the 
treasury.  The  amount  to  be  so  levied,  and  the  different 
commodities  to  be  fixed  by  our  customs  bureau  and  so  care- 
fully regulated  that  the  foreigner  comes  conditioned  into 
our  markets  on  equal  chances,  if  not  equal,  then  nearly  so. 
The  home  retail  price  should  not  be  advanced  by  reason  of 
the  tariff  paid  at  our  port  by  this  foreigner.  If  our  inter- 
nal legislation  is  right,  placmg  all  mejt  on  a  common  levcl^ 
governed  by  natural  laws  of  equity,  then  such  a  tariff  is 
protection  in  a  proper  and  true  sense. 

It  should  be  understood  by  every  citizen  that  the  dollar 
paid  as  import  duty,  if  added  to  the  price  of  goods,  is  a  tax 
on  the  consumer  and  then  why  call  this  process  a  protective 
tariff  when  it  is  a  tax  on  the  people  who  are  the  consumers  ? 
This  is  revenue,  but  we  want  a  protective  tariff  and  revenue 
according  as  the  country  may  be  in  need  of  means  to  meet 
expenses.  A  tariff  as  a  protective  measure  should  be  levied 
to  protect  home  industries  whether  we  have  one  hundred 
million  in  the  treasury  or  one  dollar.  If  the  principle  of 
protection  is  not  good,  right  and  proper,  then  let  us  call  it 
by  the  right  name  and  not  deceive  the  people. 

To  Work  Well.  "^^^'  ^^^  principle  to  work  well  and  ac- 
complish what  we  desire  as  a  people,  to 
be  protected  against /^r^/cr/^  cheap  labor ^  and  in  every  way 
do  justice  to  our  own  business  men  and  the  whole  people, 
and  to  make  the  importer  paj^  the  tariff  and  not  the  con- 
sumer, we  must  by  proper  enactments  of  law  do  away  with 
trusts,  pools,  corporations  and  combines,  whose  sole  object 
is  to  control  our  home  markets,  and  who  by  the  help  of  a 


88  TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

tarijBf  are  enabled  to  put  prices  lii^b  up  and  in  this  way 
fa7icy  fortunes  are  made — the  consumer  pays  it  all. 

No  good  government  will  give  aid,  however  indirect  it 
may  be,  to  the  harpies  that  feast  on.  the  vitals  of  our  busi- 
ness life.  Honest  competition  is  crushed  by  its  very 
weight,  holding  business  by  the  throat  and  forcing  it  to  "de- 
liver or  die."     The  corporations  and  "trusts"  of  our  land 

An  Aristocracv  ^'^^^  ^^'^'^^  ^^  compared  to  the  aristocracy 
of  Europe  in  their  relations  with  the  peo- 
ple ;  both  are  highly  priviledged,  though  our  corporations 
and  "trusts"  are  more  powerful  and  injurious  here  than  the 
aristocracy  of  Europe  in  their  own  country  are  now,  for  the 
people  are  beginning  to  comprehend  the  "tricks  of  the 
game." 

The  man  at  the  port  is  enabled  and  allowed  to  add  the 
"tariff"  he  paid  to  his  goods,  and  our  people  eventually  pay 
this  tax.  Our  own  syndicates  favor  this  for  two  reasons, 
first  it  will  help  to  put  prices  up  and  secondly  foreign  na- 
tions, many  at  least,  are  very  likely  to  retaliate  and  so  open 
another  market  where  the  prices  go  up  and  consumers  there 
pay  the  difference  and  thus  our  manufacturers  are  enabled 
to  reap  a  double  profit  as  the  result  of  this  sort  of  legisla- 
tion, if  they  choose  to  go  to  foreign  markets.  With  our 
present  price  of  labor  they  can,  however,  only  go  to  markets 
in  countries  where  a  "  high  tariff"  is  the  law. 

We  Are  Opposed  to  It.       f  "^  ^^:^'.  ",f '  ^™  are  morally 

and  politically  opposed  to  all 
such  legislation,  and  yet  there  is  no  good  reason  why  a 
"protective  tariff"  should  not  be  imposed  in  the  true  sense 
on  a  large  number  of  things,  especially  on  all  infantile  in- 
dustries^ by  which  to  maintain  our  commercial  dignity  and 
prove  our  faith  in  the  principle  of  self-preservation  as  a  na- 
tion. 

Foreign  nations  who  sell  their  products  at  close  marginal 
profits  can  still  afford  to  sell  in  our  markets  at  a  small  profit 
and  need  not,  nor  will  they,  cease  to  employ  their  capital  on 
this  account. 


m, 

%■ 

'1^, 


HELEN  H.  GARDENER. 
Fig.  1. 


HAMLIN  GARLAND. 
Fig.  2. 


f 


B.  O.  FLOWER. 
Fig.  3. 


REV.  MINOT  J.  SAVAGE. 
Fig.  4. 


Plate  VIII-For  sketches  see  pages  220  and  22] 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  89 

A  tariff  that  will  inflate  prices  is  always  detrimental  to 
tlie  country.  It  stimulates  manufacturing  enterprise  and 
for  a  time  raises  wages,  but  soon  over-stocks  the  markets, 
and  when  the  reaction  comes  the  country  becomes  the  more 
prostrated  by  its  abnormal  operation.  Hence  a  protective 
tariff  should  be  levied  so  as  not  to  affect  prices,  and  it  will 
have  no  such  effect  so  long  as  supply  and  demand  governs 
•competition,  and  then,  in  a  few  years,  the  business  of  our 
whole  country  will  become  more  settled. 

A  tariff  for  "revenue  only"  we  apprehend  will  have  a  far 
more  deleterious  influence  on  business  than  the  present  re- 
gime, for  many  reasons,  some  of  which  are  self-evident,  such 
as  the  fluctuation  of  the  markets  and  the  continued  favor- 
itism asked  for  by  those  who  want  to  make  gmck  fortunes 
and  do  not  hesitate  to  ask  the  government  to  assist  them. 


FURTHER  ARGUMENTS  ON  THE  TARIFF  QUESTION  ;  DISPUTED 
POINTS  ;  THE  RIGHT  THING  TO  DO ;  A  NEW  NATION 
NEAR  AT  HAND  ;  NONE  EXTREMELY  RICH  ;  NONE  VERY 
POOR  ;   A  PROMISING  FUTURE  FOR  AMERICA,  ETC. 

•    x^-rr         ^   T-     i.  A  protective  tariff  differs  widely 

A  Different  Feature.  .    .  ^     ^  ,  .        r_„, 

m  its  nature  and  operations  trom 

that  of  a  tariff  for  "  revenue  only."  In  our  political  econ- 
omy they  represent  entirely  different  features.  All  tarifj-^ 
it  is  admitted,  whether  intended  for  protection  or  not,  is  a 
source  of  revenue.  But  there  is  an  evident  and  important 
distinction  between  them,  and  we  wish  to  make  this  suf&- 
ciently  plain  to  the  comprehension  of  all,  and  thus  present 
another  reason  why  so  intricate  and  important  a  subject 
should  be  taken  out  of  politics  and  managed  exclusively  by 
a  board  of  statesmen,  as  before  suggested  and  defined. 

The  money  derived  from  a  protective  tariff  may  go  far  in 
defraying  the  current  expenses  of  the  government,  making 
the  tariff  for  revenue  merely  nominal,  especially  so  should 
our  public  servants  conceive  the  notion  of  keeping  down 
expenses.     We  cannot  admit  free  trade,  nor  are  we  able  to 


90  TARIFF,    PEOPLES  AND  WAGE-WORKERS. 

support  an  import  tariff  for  revenue  only.  The  efiort  would 
be  clearly  deceptive. 

-_  ^  -IT-*  li.  All  tariff  not  primarily  and  exclu- 
Material  Result.     .    ,     •  ,     ,   .    ^  /  .•      . 

sively  intended  as  a  protection  to  our 

industries,  covering  the  business  man  as  well  as  tlie  laborer, 
must  be  considered  as  internal  revenue.  This  tax  or  reve- 
nue may  be  levied  as  the  needs  of  the  government  may  re- 
quire, in  various  ways,  in  the  same  manner  as  a  municipal 
tax  in  cities  or  counties  is  levied  and  collected.  If  a  tax  or 
tariff  is  imposed  at  a  port  of  entry,  be  it  much  or  little,  it  is 
a  source  of  revenue,  but  to  the  exact  degree  of  the  amount 
paid  by  the  importer  it  is  protective^  hence  the  material  re- 
sults are  similar,  notwithstanding  the  difference  in  terms 
applied,  namely,  "protective  tariff,"  or  "tariff  for  revenue 
only." 

We  seriously  question  the  constitutionality  of  levying  a 
tariff  for  revenue  purposes  in  time  of  peace.  But,  a  tariff 
with  the  specific  object  of  protecting  home  industries,  is,  per- 
adventure,  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution  and 
may  be  imposed  by  a  customs  commission.  A  protective 
_  .        ^  tariff  should,  however,   at  all  times  be 

^     ^  '   imposed  from  motives  entirely  different 

from  those  governing  the  levying  of  taxes  for  revenue  only ; 
as  for  example,  a  tariff  for  revenue  only  may  be  necessary 
to  meet  certain  contingencies  this  year  and  next  year  this 
same  contingency  may  not  exist,  and  commodities  taxed 
this  year  may  be  entirely  exempt  next  year.  But  a  tariff 
levied  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  home  industry  is  bene- 
ficial and  necessary  at  all  times,  as  long  as  any  obstacle  re- 
mains to  interfere  with  the  country's  prosperity  which  such 
tariff  is  intended  to  remove.  No  import  duty  should  ever 
be  levied  in  times  of  peace  merely  for  the  purpose  of  filling 
a  vacuum  in  our  treasury  or  for  personal  or  partisan  con- 
sideration, which  in  political  parlauce  is  yclept  "class  legis- 
lation," or  simply  in  point  of  view  of  reconciling  party  dif- 
ferences. No  matter,  be  there  much  or  little  money  in  the 
treasury,  the  motive  actuating  tlic  levying  of  a  tariff  of  this 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  9I 

kind  should  be  the  expediency  or  necessity  arising  from  a 
genuine  desire  to  protect  our  national  interests  by  guarding 
every  vulnerable  point  in  every  department  of  our  com- 
merce and  industry  against  unfair  competition  or  invasion 

T7««-^;r^«  T«,,^^;««  of  foreign  manufacturers  in  our  own 
roreign  Invasion.         ,     ^     ,  .  ,         ,       ,    .  - 

markets,  wnicn,  under  tneir  more  ad- 
vantageous conditions  and  by  lower  wages  paid,  the  pro- 
ducer puts  us  to  a  serious  disadvantage  and  subjects  us  to  a 
great  loss  in  the  sale  of  our  own  goods  of  a  similar  charac- 
ter. Labor  being  so  much  cheaper  in  foreign  countries 
than  here  that  competition  on  an  equal  footing  would  be 
detrimental  to  our  own  interests  and  an  inj  ustice  which  it 
should  be  the  duty  of  our  government  to  obviate  by  law  in 
defense  of  our  wage-earners. 

Not  to  Impede  Progress.       ^^  "^"^    government    needs 

money  our  internal  revenue 
may  be  increased,  and  it  is  within  the  province  of  Congress 
to  do  so,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  of&cers 
of  the  commonwealth  not  only  to  provide  for  every  financial 
emergency,  but  at  the  same  time  to  study  closely  the  prin- 
ciples of  political  economy  with  a  view  of  keeping  the  na- 
tional expenditures  down  to  a  proper  limit,  yet  not  so  as  to 
impede  the  progress  of  necessary  public  improvements  how- 
ever, which  a  young  and  ever-growing  nation  like  ours  de- 
mands. Money  spent  in  the  furtherance  of  institutions 
meeting  the  demand  of  progressive  science,  art,  etc.,  is  al- 
ways judiciously  and  profitably  invested,  but  "spending  the 
dollar  and  saving  the  penny"  is  sorrj^  econom3^ 

Points  for  Reflection.        ^e    would   present,  as  appro- 

priate  matter  for  reflection  as  we 
advance  with  this  subject,  several  cogent  remarks  why  the 
tariff  question  should  be  in  the  hands  of  a  customs  conwtis- 
ston  or  a  national  tariff  bureau,  as  we  have  before  suggested 
to  be  made  up  of  competent  statesmen  and  true  representa- 
tives of  the  people. 

1st.   It  corrupts  politics.      2d.  The  question  being  intri- 
cate and  of  vital  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 


92  TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

should  be  entrusted  only  to  able  and  wise  men  and  not  to 
political  charlatans.  3d.  The  great  majorit}-  of  the  people 
are  ignorant  of  its  real  significance.  4th.  Corporations  can 
^' lobby"  acts  through  Congress  to  favor  their  own  interests. 
5th.  Many  members  of  Congress  are  personally-  interested. 
6th.  The  great  difference  between  a  protective  tariff  and 
revenue  calls  for  different  legislation  and  b}^  purely  non- 
partisan considerations. 

•  T        1  i-i-  T  It  is  contended  that  a  "  hiirh 

Nearly  as  Cheap  as  Iron.  •  .r  „    •  ^     r      ■  ■ 

tarili,      instead    of  raising, 

really  reduced  the  price  of  steel  rails.  This  is  not  only  an 
incorrect  statement,  but  is  a  misapprehension  of  the  facts. 
The  discovery  by  Bessemer  of  a  process  b\'  which  steel  can 
be  manufactured  nearly  as  cheap  as  iron,  and  improved  pro- 
cesses and  improved  machinery  in  rolling  mills  of  everv  de- 
scription, enables  manufacturers  to  produce  steel  rails, 
armor  plates,  sheet  steel,  etc.,  cheap  enough  for  any  market 
in  the  world  and  still  make  a  good  profit. 
An  Opportunity.  Capitalists  seeing  here  an  oppor- 
tunity  for  a  prohtable  investment, 
erected  numerous  plants  in  different  parts  of  the  country 
and  over-stocked  the  market,  and  here  we  have  another  rea- 
son why  the  price  of  steel  rails  and  other  products  of  steel 
is  lower.  The  formation  of  "trusts"  or  "  pools,"  however, 
could  soon  control  prices,  as  was,  to  a  certain  extent,  done 
at  Pittsburg.  For  armor  plates  the  government  pays  an 
enormous  profit  per  ton,  enriching  in  a  few  years  those  who 
are  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  contract  to  furnish  the 
same.  This  is  an  imposition  on  the  people.  The  govern- 
ment should  let  all  its  contracts  to  responsible  and  reason- 
able bidders.  But  when  there  are  only  a  few  mills  that 
liave  the  capacity  to  build  armor  plates,  and  these  are  under 
a  syndicate,  competition  is  helpless  and  the  government  en- 
courages the  formation  of  pools,  S3'ndicates  and  trusts. 

AT-       •  T--         /-      J- 4.-  As  a  natural  result  there  is 

A  Famishing  Condition.       ^  1    .      1 1     •     n 

not  much  trouble  111  keeping 

the    treasury  in  a  famishing  condition  wlien  anything  is 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  93 

done  in  tlie  way  of  coast  protection  or  making  improve- 
ments. It  is  not  our  province  at  the  present  undertaking 
to  discuss  tke  particular  application  of  a  protective  tariff  or 
an  internal  revenue  "  single  tax,"  direct  or  indirect,  or  any 
very  great  change  in  the  method  of  levying  a  tax  now  in 
vogue  ;  all  we  ask  is  a  protective  tariff  that  will  protect  all 
peoples  alike,  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  necessary,  high  or  low, 
an4  deemed  best  by  a  non-partisan  commission.  We  would, 
however,  give  our  views  as  to  a  protective  tariff  being  placed 
on  certain  commodities.  Those  things  we  actually  possess 
may  be  subject  to  taxation,  but  what  we  consume  (the 
necessaries  of  life),  should  be  placed  on  the  free  list.  A 
customs  tax  on  all  articles  of  luxury  and  on  all  undeveloped 
industries  and  much  of  the  current  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment may  thus  be  realized,  so  that  an  internal  tax  for  reve- 
nue purposes  will  be  merely  nominal. 

Those  From  Foreign  Lands.       ^"  ^'"P"'^'  ^"'Y  "^f 

not  necessarily  raise  the 

price  on  goods  so  taxed.  It  will  not  do  so  if  the  law  of  com-' 
petition  is  allowed  full  sway.  Then  the  markets  will  be 
regulated  by  sttpply  and  de7nand.  The  English  or  German 
capitalist,  or  whosoever  he  may  be,  from  foreign  lands,  must 
enter  our  markets  on  equal  chances  after  paying  the  im- 
port duty  on  his  goods.  The  tariff  should  be  equivalent  or 
more  than  equivalent  to  the  difference  between  the  wages 
paid  by  the  operators  of  the  different  countries.  If,  how- 
ever, capital  is  allowed  to  combine  at  home  to  control  the 
market  then  such  legislation  is  a  farce,  robbing  the  people 
of  the  rise  in  price  to  the  amount  of  the  tariff. 

A  license  is  imposed  on  one  doing  an  itinerant  business 
in  any  of  our  cities  or  towns.  This  is  to  protect  merchants 
who  are  located  and  pay  taxes.  The  license  is  to  offset  the 
tax  and  thus  bring  even  a  common  hawker  on  equal  footing 
with  those  permanently  located.  It  is  not  fer  the  revenue 
such  license  will  bring  to  the  city  treasury,  but  it  is  in 
justice  due  to  those  in  business  permanently  located  and 
who  pay  taxes  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  municipal  gov- 


94  TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS. 

ernment.  Tliis  license  does  not  advance  the  prices  of  the 
commodities  brought  into  the  market  by  a  transient  mer- 
chant. He  pays  for  the  privilege.  If  he  locates  he  pays  a 
municipal  tax. 

Then  there  is  no  good  reason  why  foreign  merchants 
coming  to  our  markets  should  not  be  required  to  pay  for 
such  a  privilege. 

Crowding  the  Market.    ,  ^'^S'^^^'^^g  a  protective  tariff 

there  comes  to  our  mind  a  very 
important  point  that  must  not  be  overlooked  b3^  "our  cus- 
toms commission;"  it  is  that  when  the  home  market  is  in  a 
plethoric  state  by  reason  of  over-production.  A  "  high 
tariff"  is  now  in  demand.  This  will  cut  off  a  source  of 
supply.  In  instances  of  this  kind  a  "high  tariff"  will  at 
least  decrease  importation  and  give  home  industry  a  better 
chance  without  advancing  prices,  as  competition  under  the 
new  regime^  supply  and  demand,  will  have  the  swa}',  for 
foreign  competition  is  diminished  to  the  extent  of  the  tariff 
imposed. 

The  tariff  bureau  will  here  find  an  excellent  opportunity 
to  exercise  its  function  and  to  regulate  wisely  foreign  com- 
petition, entirely  free  from  the  idea  of  revenue  or  in  the  in- 
terest of  a  specific  class  or  a  particular  political  part}-. 

Laudable  Efforts.  ^  ^°°^  government  is  one  that  will 
support  all  laudable  efforts  of  its  peo- 
ple to  carry  on  business  or  pursue  a  vocation  to  assure  a 
fair  living  or  secure  a  competency.  As  long  as  they  ask 
no  more  than  that  all  should  be  supported  by  the  govern- 
ment on  equal  chances  to  acquire  the  much-coveted  dollar, 
the  "bone  of  contention"  between  labor  and  capital,  the 
boon  should  be  granted.  Under  the  constitution  the 
authorities  are  bound  to  protect  its  citizens  of  the  common- 
wealth (who  are  the  government  as  much  as  the  governed)^ 
in  all  rights  and  privileges  bearing  upon  the  happiness  or 
prosperity  of  the  greatest  number. 

The  Mystery  Solved.       National  pride,  loyalty  and  true 
patriotism  of  the  whole  people  de- 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  95 

pend  largely  on  the  kind  of  laws  we  have.  The  impartial 
administration  of  the  government  binds  the  people  together 
in  true  social  sympathy  with  each  other.  Tariff  legislation 
is  doubtless  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  bringing  about 
one  common  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  nation  than 
any  other,  or  the  very  opposite  may  be  the  case  according 
as  such  legislation  approaches  nearest  to  the  impartial  and 
non-partisan  interest  of  all  the  people.  Indeed  this  argu- 
ment will  apply  to  all  laws,  and  the  secret  of  a  nation's  hap- 
piness is  solved  as  soon  as  the  day  is  reached  when  the 
legislators  are  governed  in  framing  laws  by  a  spirit  of  uni- 
versal fraternity. 

In  levying  an  "import  tax"  the  greatest  consideration 
must  be  exercised  so  that  it  does  not  create  a  privileged 
class.  All  points  must  be  thoroughly  studied.  In  the  first 
place,  the  object  of  such  a  tariff  should  be  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  protect  home  industry,  and  unless  all  peoples  are  ben- 
efited thereby  it  is  no  protection  at  all.  In  the  second  place, 
if  by  "customs  duty"  a  limited  number  are  favored  by  it 
and  enriched  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of  the  people,  then 
all  such  legislation  should  be  made  unlawful.  T^Ioreover,  a 
tariff  imposed  for  the  sole  object  of  "revenue  only"  in 
time  of  peace  should  also  be  declared  unlawful  if  it  is  not 
already  considered  unconstitutional  by  the  judiciary.  The 
only  point  covering  all  forms  of  "import  duty  "  is  to  pro- 
tect home  industry. 

That  Fence  '^^^  right  to  erect  a  fence  around  your 
grounds  to  protect  it  from  the  inroads  of  de- 
structive cattle  which  might  trespass  upon  your  crops  is 
not  questioned.  It  is  our  right  to  put  up  legal  barriers 
against  innovations  upon  our  fields  of  commerce.  Self-pro- 
tection is  a  law  of  nature.     Impartial  justice  only  is  law. 

The  commonwealth  does  not  represent  money.  Govern- 
ments are  not  instituted  the  same  as  a  company  in  business 
with  mone}^  making  as  its  objective  point.  The}^  represent 
man.  Its  life  and  power,  its  very  existence,  come  from  the 
people.     Of&cers  of  the  law  are  its  servants.     Their  duty  is 


g6  TARIFF,    PEOPLFS    AND    WACxF-WORKERS. 

to  legislate  for  the  ^^wod  of  the  people  and  administer  the 
laws  for  their  protection — a  power  delegated  by  the  people. 

Curses  of  Party  Politics.       ^ne  of  the  curses  of  party 

politics  IS  that  the  laws  en- 
acted by  the  part}^  in  power  will,  almost  to  a  certainty,  be 
repealed  b}^  another  part}''  should  it  come  into  power.  A 
congressman  to  receive  the  good  will  of  his  constituency 
must  needs  propose  some  new  measure  in  their  interest  or 
repeal  some  law  distasteful  to  them.  A  member  of  some 
great  corporation  by  shrewd  "wire  pulling"  is  nominated 
and  elected  to  Congress ;  by  means  of  all  sorts  of  lobby- 
work  and  expenditure  of  moiie}^  a  bill  is  filibustered  through 
Congress  lev3dng  a  "protective"  tariff  on  certain  commodi- 
ties, in  the  manufacturing  of  some  of  which  he  is  largely 
interested  and  friends  who  assist  him.  During  the  time 
the  AIcKinley  bill  was  pending  before  Congress  over  a  thou- 
sand people,  men  and  women,  from  different  parts  of  the 
United  States,  who  were  more  or  less  directly  interested  in 
the  passage  of  this  bill,  were 'in  Washington  improving 
every  moment  in  lobby  work,  spending  mone}"  (indirectly 
of  course)  to  pass  this  bill.  All  ostensiblj^  for  the  benefit 
of  the  "  poor  workingman  "  we  are  told.  Maii}^  members  of 
Congress  and  particular  associates  become  millionaires  in  a 
few  years,  and  those  who  blindly  vote  for  such  men  have 
their  labor  for  their  pains.  Against  such  villainous  politi- 
cal gymnastics  the  people  must  protect  themselves. 

Wh}^  so  eager  to  have  certain  "tariff 
Why  so  Eager  .   ^.^j^„  ^^^^^^-^     ^^J^^^,  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^ 

thousand  dollars  to  be  elected  to  Congress  when  the  salary 
is  only  $8.00  a  day  ?  This  will  not  pay  banquets,  lobby 
agents,  sharp  lady-manipulators,  often  encountered  and  nec- 
essary to  succeed  in  passing  a  single  bill. 

All  kinds  of  ventures — imaginary  emergencies,  harbor 
defenses,  harbor  improvements,  extravagant  appropriations 
to  keep  down  the  surplus,  government  contractors  make 
immense  profits  in  sub-letting,  votes  are  exchanged  in  get- 
ting a  bill  through  Congress  b}^  a  common  rule  of  "you 


CHRIST  EVANS. 
Fig.  1. 


JOSEPH  N.  DOLPH. 
Fig.  2. 


MRS.  POTTER  PALMER. 
Fig  3. 


REV.  L.  ABBOTT,  D.  D.,  Ph.D. 
Fig.  4. 


Plate  IX-For  sketches  see  page  221, 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS.  97 

vote  for  my  measure  and  I  will  vote  for  yours" — is  it  all  for 
the  benefit  of  the  workingman  ?  A  silver-tongued  (?)  orator 
takes  one  side  of  the  question,  usually  the  one  that  pays 
him  best.  Tariff  is  the  issue.  High-protection  wins.  At 
another  presidential  epoch  the  opposing  party  wins  the  con- 
test on  a  mere  nominal^  or  7io  tariff  basis.  "Divide  and 
rule,"  as  of  yore;  but  against  such  mummery  the  people 
should  protect  themselves. 

This  tariff  question  furnishes 
Public  Entertainment.  ^  p^^^j^  entertainment  like  that 

seen  in  the  days  of  knight-errantry — both  parties  assuming 
characters  apparently  realistic  in  the  political  arena — cutting 
and  slashing  for  the  amusement  of  the  people.  What  is  the 
result  ?  Fire  and  smoke  evince  activity  of  the  same  smoke- 
stacks a  little  longer,  or  they  cease  to  breathe.  The  wage- 
earners  either  gain  a  short  respite  or  enter  the  procession  of 
work-seekers. 

The  capitalist  can  sleep  on 
The  Tide  of  Prosperity,  j^;^   .^jj^^^  ^^^^.  j^;^  ^^^^^^^ 

are  calm."  He  can  wait  for  the  return  of  the  "tide  of  pros- 
perity"— live  on  collaterals.  Capital  has  no  hungry  stomach 
like  labor  so  often  has.  It  neither  weaves  nor  spins,  nor  feels 
the  fierce  bite  of  the  wintry  blast,  when,  for  proper  protec- 
tion, labor  surrenders  and  submits  to  the  halter  of  political 
charlatanism.  Capital  tallies  another  victory,  as  little  by 
little  these  small  rivulets  of  political  favoritism  swell  into 
an  immense  sea  of  social  distinction  over  which  none  can 
navigate  unless  he  has  a  ticket  bearing  this  stamp  :  "$ — ,"' 
and  a  good  bank  account  to  back  it.      Is  this  Protection? 

Free-trade  you  think  will  remove  the  cause  of  these  tratt- 
bles ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that,  unless  trusts,  pools,, 
monopolies,  etc.,  are  absolutely  prohibited  by  law,  capital 
will  immediately  form  international  combines  of  every  sort„ 
and  would  then  surely  assume  gigantic  proportions.  All 
combines  at  home,  or  those  of  an  international  character,, 
tending  to  control  our  market  prices,  should  be  prohibited 
by  Congress.     This  will  bring  capital  on  equal  footing  in 


98  TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGE-WORKERS. 

the  markets,  and  will  eventually  bring  labor  on  an  equal 
plane  with  capital  by  protecting  all  people  alike,  especially 
the  workingman,  by  breaking  labor  competition. 

.  .  A  protective  tarifif  that  will  enhance  prices 

*=*  '   of  the  commodities  on  which  such  tariff  is 

levied  is  no  protection,  as  we  have  shown,  for  the  consumer 
pays  it  at  last.  As  long  as  capital  is  allowed  to  combine 
its  strength,  a  tariff  will  aid  in  putting  prices  up.  This  is 
liable  to  cause  over-production — an  unnatural  demand,  or 
rather  inducement,  for  investment  of  capital.  At  the  begin- 
ning high  wages  are  paid — to  freeze  out  rivals — and  when 
the  highest  point  is  reached,  reduce  wages  even  below  what 
the  market  warrants.  Then  comes  the  "^/a-z/Ct,"  and  the 
corporation  connives  at  it.  They  wish  to  avoid  all  the 
responsibility  of  a  ^^ lock-ottt^^^  so  they  treat  their  workmen 
in  such  a  compulsory  manner  as  to  compel  a  strike,  and  thus 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  hire  men  at  a  reduced  price, 
and  accuse  the  workmen  of  sheer  stupidity.  Thousands 
who  are  unwilling  or  unable  to  engage  in  former  pursuits, 
from  which  this  wild  upheaval  took  them,  compete  for  these 
vacant  positions  at  reduced  wages. 

-^.         ,      r  T^  /•     i.         Who  is  to  blame?     A  sfood  govem- 

Signal  of  Defeat.  ^     ,         r         .  .      ^      .^         . 

°  ment  whose  nnancial  policy  is  sound 

and  correct  will  not  permit  such  disastrous  business  inun- 
dations to  overleap  the  legal  barriers.  Protection  that 
makes  this  possible  engenders  evil.  Reaction  is  the  signal 
of  defeat.  Corporations  are  the  "decoy  ducks"  which  the 
government  fits  out  to  lure  the  innocent  to  destruction. 
Here  responsibility  ceases  with  the  general  chaos  they  pro- 
duced— their  unprotected  dupes,  the  unprotected  workmen, 
pay  the  "piper"  for  this  ghostly  dance!  The  aftermath 
often  reaches  to  the  grave.  Corporations  should  be  clothed 
with  individuality,  making  every  member  responsible  re- 
spectively for  indebtedness. 

Tlie  laws  of  Pennsylvania  forbid  school  directors  to  have 
any  personal  interest  in  any  school  supplies.  Why  should 
our  national  laws  not  prohibit  Congressmen  from  lia\  ing 


TARIFF,    PKOPLES   AND    WAGE-WORKERS.  99 

any  interest  in  any  corporation,  trusts,  combines,  demand- 
ing legislation  in  their  behalf?  We  know  a  Congressman 
who  was  honest.  His  known  honesty  secured  his  re-election 
a  number  of  times ;  by  and  by  through  evil  associations  at 
the  capitol  he  caught  the  popular  infection  to  become  rich ; 
he  yielded  to  the  temptation,  lost  his  political  life.  His 
reputation  for  honesty,  and  whatever  political  glory  he  had 
won,  was  buried  with  the  debris  of  so  many  other  fallen 
monuments  of  greatness,  overturned  by  the  desolating 
cyclone  of  greed  and  dishonesty. 


/NOTE    0/\E. 

Ti,'   ^     T7    4-  ^^  P^&^  Si  of  our  book  we  suggested  the 

1  WO-  1  nir  b  te.  -^^^^  ^r  ^  unanimows  vote  in  deciding  a 
question  presented  to  the  "  Customs  Commission,"  in  order  to  legalize 
it,  with  reference  to  any  proposed  tariflf  rulings  or  changes.  Upon 
more  mature  reflection,  however,  we  desire  to  modify  our  views  on  this 
particular  point.  There  are  emergencies  in  which  our  most  profound 
thinkers  and  wisest  statesmen  favor  a  two-thirds  vote  as  the  most 
judicious,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

First  They  claim  that  many  a  good  law  should  be  passed,  which 
will  be  opposed  by  a  few,  who  may  be  interested  in  its  defeat,  whereas 
two-thirds  of  the  honest  and  disinterested  members  may  favor  it. 

Second.  A  two-thirds  vote  will  dispense  with  the  too  common  and  at 
times  ridiculous  cavilling  and  wrangling  of  unwise  but  interested 
parties  to  put  oflF  or  defeat  a  good  measure. 

Third  A  two-thirds  vote  sustaining  the  measure  will  make  it  as 
binding  as  a  unanimous  vote. 

NOTE   TWO. 

The  popular  idea  of  a  tariff  is  not  to  favor 
The  Popular  Idea,      i-ponopoly,  by  which  the  rich  or  the  few  are 

protected  and  favored,  to  the  detriment  and  loss  of  the  poor  and  the  majiy, 
but  as  a  measure  by  which  all,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  shall  be  equally 
benefitted,  giving  each  an  equal  chance  in  the  market.  A  tariff  should 
be  collected,  not  on  what  we  consume,  but  what  we  possess.  Otherwise 
the  wealthy  would  be  taxed  for  no  more  than  the  poor,  if  he  is  satisfied 
to  consume  only  the  same  as  the  poor,  and  his  possessions  yield  no 
revenue.  The  poor  man's  family  may  be  larger  than  that  of  his 
wealthier  neighbor,  and  consume  more,  and  thus  be  compelled  to  pay 
more  tariff  money  than  his  rich  neighbor. 


lOO  TARIFF,    PEOPLES    AND    WAGE-WORKERS. 

In  this  case  a  tarifif  for  revenue  only  is  as  bad  as  a  tariff  for  protec- 
tion with  incidental  revenue.  The  people  must  at  once  see  the 
inequality  of  such  a  measure. 

NOTE    THREE. 

Some  people  think  to  get  an  oflBce,  govem- 
Campaign  runas.  n-jg^tai  or  municipal,  is  a  big  and  paying 
thing.  But  this  is  a  serious  misconception  of  facts.  It  does  not  pay. 
The  salaries  paid  are  really  out  of  proportion  with  those  paid  in  secular 
positions,  in  our  social  and  commercial  pursuits.  There  is  big  pay 
and  short  working  hours,  it  is  true,  but  still  it  does  not  pay.  A  friend 
of  ours,  who  held  lucrative  offices  for  twenty  years,  said  the  other  day, 
«'I  would  be  worth  thousands  of  dollars  to-day  if  I  had  refused  a 
public  office."  It  is  true  the  government  pays  large  salaries,  and  in 
many  positions  exacts  but  meagre  .service,  but  how  many  office-holders 
make  or  save  money — honestly  f     It  does  not  pay  in  the  end. 

Almost  everyone  holding  office  under  the  government  is  assessed  by 
the  party  for  campaign  purposes.  The  spoil  system  permeates  every 
artery  of  the  body  politic.  Thus  the  very  money  paid  into  the  treasury 
by  the  people  is  paid  indirectly  out  of  the  treasury  to  further  a  political 
campaign.     This  is  quixotic  economy. 

Only  the  rich  can  secure  offices,  since  it  takes  money  to  make  the 
political  machinery  run  smooth  and  pay  your  way  through  the  official 
toll-gate.  

"  There's  a  good  time  coming  yet, 
A  good  time  coming  ; 
The  pen  shall  supersede  the  sword. 
And  right,  not  might,  shall  be  the  chord, 
In  the  good  time  coming. 
Worth,  not  birth,  shall  rule  mankind, 
And  be  acknowledged  stronger  ; 
The  proper  impulse  has  been  given, 
Wait  a  little  longer. 

There's  a  good  time  coming  yet, 

A  good  time  coming  ; 

War  in  all  men's  eyes  shall  be 

A  monster  of  iniquity 

In  the  good  time  coming  ; 

Nations  shall  not  quarrel  then 

To  prove  which  is  the  stronger. 

Nor  slaughter  men  for  glory's  sake — 

Wait  a  little  longer." 


CORPORATIONS  AND  UNIONS, 


Man^s  Natural  Endoiuments;  Corporate  Orgamzations  and 
Labor  Unions;  Primary  Reasons;  Driveii  to  It;  The 
Right  to  Organize;  Good  and  Evil  Effects;  The  Right 
Course;  Self-Defense;  Political  Philosophy ;  Reason  and 
Power  to  Search;  Experience  a7id  Necessity  Elements 
of  Evolution;  How  Civil  Government  was  Developed; 
State  Police ;  The  Difficulty  Settled;  Harmony  and 
Happiness  the  Rule  and  the  End;  How  Paupers  are 
Made;   Cost  of  Livings  Etc.,  Etc. 


Search  out  the  high-road  to  happiness,  and  when  you  have  found 
the  way  try  to  remain  upon  it. — Don't  lose  your  way. 

Man  is  endowed  with  tlie  fac- 
Mental  Endowments.  ^^^^^  ^j.  ^^^^^^_   ^^.^^j^  ^^,j^;^^  ^^ 

other  creature  is  favored.  He  alone  of  all  the  animal  king- 
dom can  think,  comprehend  and  draw  conclusions  from 
scenes  around  him.  The  power  of  speech  and  reason  is 
given  to  man  not  only  to  discriminate  for  his  own  benefit 
and  pleasure,  but  to  impart  the  result  of  his  researches  and 
observations  to  his  fellow  beings  ;  and  by  these  powers  per- 
suade them  to  become  of  the  same  mind,  thus  uniting  their 
strength  in  the  same  common  cause.  These  faculties,  more 
than  his  physical  powers,  have  made  man  the  king  and  ruler 
of  the  earth  ;  he  tames  the  lion  of  the  forest,  enters  the 
tiger's  cage,  rides  upon  the  tusks  of  the  elephant,  or  makes 
his  bed  upon  a  den  of  dragons.  The  fiercer  elements  are 
obedient  to  his  will  and  allow  themselves  to  be  harnessed  in 
his  service  like  a  tame  steed. 

He  has  made  the  lifeless  iron  a  vehicle  of  speech ;  navi- 
gates the  air  as  a  winged  bird  ;  tunnels  the  earth,  robbing  the 
high  mountain  of  its  staying  powers  ;  bridges  the  mighty 
sea,  and  links  by  a  simple  chain  the  continents  of  the  world, 


I02  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

wooing  them  with  silent  whispers  ;  all  through  this  faculty 
of  reason.  He  wanders  from  cause  to  effect,  like  a  bird 
flutters  from  flower  to  flower,  gathering  here  an  idea  and 
there  a  fact ;  reaches  the  solution  of  a  problem  by  com- 
parison or  by  experience  ;  encountering  doubts,  difficulties 
— at  times  almost  despairing — to  hold  on  to  what  he  has 
gained,  or  defending  himself  against  antagonistic  forces. 

But  dauntless  and  unwearied  he  pushes  on  in  search  of 
the  right — his  right,  his  neighbor's  right,  the  rights  of 
humanity — and  by  his  indomitable  power  and  will  to  seek 
and  to  find  he  brushes  the  dust  from  hidden  truths,  tears 
away  the  brambled  network  covering  forgotten  principles, 
opens  the  barred  flood-gates  of  light,  disclosing  man's  needs 
and  rights,  showing  men  the  environment  and  elements 
which  have  long  blighted  their  hopes,  and  pointing  out  the 
road  to  freedom  and  happiness. 

_  ,  _  .         .  Men  beino;-  endowed  with  rea- 

Personal  Examination.  ,    ,      u  ,     ^,    t  ,  ^ 

son  can  and  should,  by  the  light 

transmitted  by  philosophers  and  scientists,  by  statesmen 
and  humanitarians,  aim  dail}-^  to  understand  better  the  needs 
of  themselves;  examine  carefully  the  elements  surround- 
ing them  and  by  all  their  means  strengthen  the  weak  points 
in  their  social  system.  By  this  means  the  ego  is  more 
sharply  outlined  and  the  vital  principles  of  life  are  better 
understood. 

In  the  same  ratio  that  individuals  progress  in  understand- 
ing the  science  and  principles  of  good  government  will 
nations  advance  towards  the  establishment  of  a  government 
ruled  by  the  people. 

.     ^,  .,  ,  .  Man  cannot  only  find  the  truth 

Man  IS  Philosophic.  ,  ^  •       x.  ^  \  ^  j 

^  by  searching,  but  he  can  shape  and 

govern  his  life  by  it.  Experience  of  others  is  remembered 
and  recorded.  Comparison  aids  men  in  reasoning  intelli- 
gently on  any  line  of  investigation,  and  with  success. 

The  lessons  learned  and  taught  in  the  many  ages  enables 
the  human  race  to  understand  at  this  time  what  is  essential 
to  human  happiness.      In  the  lace  of  the  wonderful  acliieve- 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  IO3 

ments  of  man  in  the  past  in  science  and  art,  it  should  seem 
but  a  simple  lesson  to  learn  how  to  adapt  measures  to  im- 
prove his  social  relations.  Fire  and  water  have  been  com" 
pelled  to  take  the  place  of  human  muscle.  The  same 
elements  enable  him  to  journey  over  four  hundred  miles  a 
day,  and  take  his  ease,  whereas  years  ago,  before  he  applied 
these  powers  to  machinery,  he  could  barely  make  his  weary 
feet  cover  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  a  day.  Why  should  he 
not  be  able  to  accomplish  similar  results  in  the  social 
system  ? — He  will  try,  and  he  will  win. 

-        -  Man  fortifies  himself  against  all  possible 

inroads    upon  or  invasion  of  his    domains 
threatening  loss  or  injury  to  himself  or  his. 

He  erects  a  house  firmly  and  strongly  in  which  to  secure 
safe  shelter  for  himself  and  family.  He  furnishes  the  doors 
and  windows  with  complicated  and  strong  locks  to  bar  out 
unwelcome  intruders.  Why  should  he  not  take  equal  pre- 
cautions against  the  encroachments  of  men  who  aim  at 
stealing  from  him  his  social  rights? 

And  in  doing  either  he  may  need  assistance.  If  the 
enemy  trying  to  rob  his  house  is  too  formidable  to  be  over- 
come by  his  single  arm,  he  calls  upon  his  neighbors  for 
assistance ;  and  if  they  are  good,  honest  neighbors  they 
will  readily  respond.  The  same  robbers  threaten  their 
homes,  and  they  act  in  self-defense — for  if  the  neighbor  is 
too  weak  alone  to  keep  the  assailant  at  ba}'^,  by  uniting 
their  power  they  overcome  him  at  once. 

If  a  foreign  foe  invades  a  domain,  not  only  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  harbor  at  which  they  land  are  expected  to  drive 
them  back,  but  the  luiited  forces  of  the  land  are  sent  against 
the  foe.      "In  union  there  is  strength." 

XT    i.   /-k    1      ID        J         ^   r^    i...  It  is  not  alone  a  ques- 

Not  Only  Bread  and  Butter.     .        ri        v  • 

"^  tion  of  bare  living  or  sim- 

ply a  matter  of  wages  that  agitates  the  mind  and  troubles 
the  heart  of  the  laborer  and  drives  him  in  self-defense  into 
labor  unions^  or  other  organizations  having  self-protection 
for  its  object.     It  is  principle! 


I04  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

A  true  American  claims  the  respect  the  constitution 
guarantees  to  every  American  citizen  when  it  asserts  that 
*'all  men  are  bom  free  and  equals 

The  moment  you  attempt  to  draw  a  line  of  distinction 
you  assail  his  most  sacred  birth-right  and  arouse  a  spirit  of 
just  indignation.  To  be  a  Roman  ciiize7i^  when  Rome  was 
in  its  glor}^,  was  a  password  of  safety  and  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction anywhere,  whether  that  citizen  was  a  senator  or  an 
artisan.  Why  should  it  not  shelter,  protect  and  dignify 
the  humblest  American? 

There  is  not  another  nation  on  earth  that  will  feel  and 
resent  an  insult  as  readily  and  as  forcibly  as  Americans. 
TVi   •     P   f  '   f  The  American  people  draw  no  line 

of  distinction  when  danger  threatens 
their  country.  Their  patriotism,  their  pure  love  of  country, 
their  whole-souled  loyalty,  at  once  overleaps  and  levels 
every  barrier  of  social  distinction.  No  one  claims  a  greater 
share  of  the  country  or  asks  that  only  his  favorite  portion 
should  be  defended.  All  are  equal  then.  Why  should  it 
not  be  so  in  time  of  peace  ?  But  while  the  American  people 
are  both  patriotic  and  peaceable,  they  are  no  less  jealous  of 
their  rights.  While  they  give  the  government  all  the  vol- 
unteers they  need,  do  it  cheerfull}-,  the}^  ivill  defend  their 
individual  rights  and  firmly  uphold  their  principles. 

r-^   ^   .  ,      -      .   ,  Some  one  may  say  that  it  was  not 

Outside  Assistance.       ,         ^.       a        •  i.     r      i . 

only  native  Americans  who  fought 

our  battles  and  achieved  our  freedom,  but  we  were  aided  by 
the  aliens  whom  we  now  blame  for  much  of  the  demoraliza- 
tion of  our  social  system.  Let  us  not  forget  that  a  century 
— even  half  a  century  ago — the  emigrants  landing  on  our 
shores  were  quite  a  different  class  of  people  from  those  now 
crowding  our  business  centres.  A  large  portion  of  them 
were  people  more  or  less  familiar  with  American  principles 
and  government.  They  were  frugal,  industrious,  honest 
and  intelligent.  Many  brought  little  fortunes  with  them  to 
invest  in  their  new  homes.  They  came  to  stay.  They  came 
to  help — and    did    \\q\^  us — to  build  up  and  improve  our 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  IO5 

country.     Tliey  helped  to  frame  and  support  our  institu- 
tions.     They  fought  and  voted  for  American  principles. 

Note  the  difference  between  our 
Quite  a  Difference,  earlier  emigrants  and  those  of  to-day. 
We  have  already  given  you  the  characteristics  of  the  former. 
Now  let  us  give  those  of  the  latter. 

The  majority  of  foreigners  coming  to  our  country  now 
come  not  because  they  love  our  free  institutions,  for  nine 
out  of  ten  know  nothing  about  them  ;  and  show,  when  here, 
that  they  care  as  little  for  them.  They  come  not  as  patriots 
to  fight  for  their  freedom,  as  the  earlier  settlers  did.  They 
come  when  the  country  is  settled,  the  land  populated,  liberty 
achieved,  battles  fought,  the  forests  leveled,  the  prairies 
broken  up  and  productive,  furnaces,  manufactories  and  rail- 
roads built.  They  come  when  the  work  is  done,  and  the 
roads  are  broken,  and  the  feast  is  ready.  They  come  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  that  others  have  planted. 

Some  come  from  the  chattle  markets  of  despotism — from 
the  chain-gangs  and  prisons,  or  pauperdom  of  countries 
that  have  no  use  for  them  and  cast  the  burden  on  anyone 
willing  to  receive  them. 

Underlings,  ignorant,  rude  and  untutored,  brought  here 
by  corrupt  agents,  buyers  and  sellers  of  human  chattle — 
which  agents  the  law  of  the  land  should  banish  to  Siberia 
— they  come  to  get  better  zvages.  They  work  for  any  wages 
they  can  get,  for  any  amount  is  far  greater  than  they  got  at 
home.  They  live  literally  on  garbage,  spend  but  a  trifle, 
lielp  to  reduce  wages,  save  all  they  can ;  then,  when  they 
have  a  few  hundred  dollars,  go  back  home  to  spend  it. 

Cheap  labor  rapidly  began  to  fill  up 
The  Beginning.  ^^^  country  when  this  class  of  emigrants 
poured  in,  more  especially  during  the  last  decade.  A  large 
majority  of  them  settled  in  our  cities  as  wage-workers.  In 
earlier  times  it  was  the  reverse.  A  large  majority  of  the 
emigrants  then  sought  homes  in  the  rural  districts.  Many 
of  our  western  territories  were  populated  by  these  earlier 


Io6  CORPORATIONS  AND  UNIONS. 

emigrants.  But  these  later  arrivals  dreaded  tlie  hardsliips 
and  exposure  of  territorial  life,  and,  like  bees,  settled  around 
the  visionary  honey  pots  of  the  cities. 

And  here  our  wage-workers  met  the  first  charge  of  the 
foe  which  called  for  united  action  for  self-defense  in  reduced 
wages.  When  it  is  remembered  that  this  reduced  wage 
element  was  supported  by  foreign  and  American  capitalists, 
forming  a  union  against  the  honest  American  laborer,  no 
reasonable  man  will  censure  the  labor-men,  or  wage-workers, 
for  forming  a  union  also. 

This  was  simply  organizing  against  an  organized  force. 

Had  capital  not  organized  there  would  have  been  no 
cause  for  organizing  labor.  But  this  organization  of  capital 
with  a  view  to  reduce  the  price  of  labor  was  the  potent 
cause  of  strikes  and  labor  organizations.  It  was  a  great 
oversight  on  the  part  of  those  who  might  have  prevented  it 
to  allow  such  injustice  to  be  perpetrated  against  American, 
wage-workers — this  importation  of  contract  labor  by  capi- 
talists, in  mau}^  instances  at  least. 

^,       ^        ,  ,      ^  This  v.-as  the  bef^innini^  of  the 

The  Trouble  Grows.  ^      , ,      ..j.      ^.    °  .   .       .       , 

trouble.  When  these  mj  urea  work- 
men— these  American  w^age-workers — saw  the  coming  giant 
ready  to  blast  their  future  homes  and  hopes,  without  any 
help  from  the  government,  they  defended,  they  saw  but  one 
remedy — they  must  defend  themselves.  Strikes  followed. 
Then  the  government  sent  soldiers  to  stay  an  insurrection, 
and  protect  capital. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  "a  crust  of  bread  and  a  bed 
of  straw"  was  the  destiu}-  of  the  American  laborer,  as  in 
other  downtrodden  countries.  vSomething  had  to  be  done  ta 
avert  such  a  direful  catastrophe.  It  seemed  near  at  hand 
and  action  must  be  taken  to  stay  its  progress.  Some  slight 
efforts  were  made  by  the  government.  Contract  labor  was 
prohibited  to  a  great  extent.  But  by  the  help  of  protective 
tariff,  foreign  labor,  trusts,  pools  andothercapital  formations, 
the  evil  was  not  abated  and  no  legal  remedy  found  sufficient 
to  heal  the  sore,  and  laljor  unions  were  the  result. 


CORPORATTOXS    AND    T'XTONS.  lO/ 

i»/r    ^      1    Ai.i.        i.-  Man  is  a  social  animal.     He  needs 

Mutual  Attraction.  ,  .        .  ,      .     i  •  i    i     • 

companionship,  without  which  he  is 

not  contented.  Then  the  keen  sense  of  justice  instilled  in 
every  man  urges  him  to  protection  or  self-defense.  Alone, 
he  may  be  too  weak  to  protect  his  interests,  and  he  appeals 
to  his  neighbor.  People  moving  in  the  same  social  circle, 
travelling  on  the  same  road,  governed  by  the  same  interests 
or  circumstances,  naturally  attract  each  other.  They  feel 
the  same  injustice  and  they  affiliate.  From  the  millionaire 
to  the  pauper,  in  all  the  divisions  of  classes,  or  society, 
there  exists  a  sympathy  which  leads  to  fraternal  friendship 
and  closer  organization,  by  which  instinct  they  maintain  a 
special  distinction  of  rank,  a  tendency  towards  ownership, 
a  wish  for  supremacy,  &c. 

There  seems  to  be  a  disposition  to  look  up  to  those  who 
belong  to  the  winning  class,  or  those  possessing  wealth. 
This  is  largely  owing  to  a  misconception  or  perversion  of 
the  true  idea  of  what  makes  life  a  real  success.  The  greatest 
evil  permeating  society  is  the  almost  universal  desire  to 
amass  wealth,  or  want  to  become  rich.  Fine  clothes,  fine 
houses,  fine  carriages  are  alluring,  and  frequently  question- 
able means  are  resorted  to  in  order  to  acquire  them.  The 
wage-worker  cannot  keep  up  appearances  with  the  rich; 
hence  his  deeper  sympathy  for  his  own  class,  and  hence 
these  organizations. 

^,     .     _PP     ,  Primarily    organizations    are    an    evil ; 

Their  Effects.  ^  -i    ^-u       -u        ^x,  •    •  n  r 

temporarily  they  have  their  influence  for 

good.  These  organizations,  if  properly  conducted,  are 
schools  in  which  adults  may  learn  many  lessons  of  benefit 
to  them  in  their  calling  and  station  of  life.  Societies  con- 
ducted peaceably,  with  a  view  to  do  good  to  all  are  blessings 
to  a  community.  Organizations  of  a  belligerent  character 
will  engender  strife.  Any  organization  of  capital  or  cor- 
poration that  discharges  a  man  simply  because  he  belongs 
to  a  labor  nnion  invites  resistance,  for  a  man  has  a  right  to 
belong  to  any  society  he  chooses  as  long  as  he  perforins  his 
duty  as  a  citizen  and  attends  to  his  business. 


I08  CORrORATIONS    AND    T'XIONS. 

In  the  foregoing  chapters  we  took  occa- 
Labor  Unions.  ^.^^  ^^  speak  of  corporate  organizations 
and  merely  briefly  referred  to  labor  nnions  in  the  abstract. 
Here  we  desire  to  discnss  labor  unions  more  in  detail. 

T-u  Organizations    are    the 

Circumstances  Made  Them.   ^^^^^^^    ^^    outgrowth    of 

some  prevailing  evil  having  existence  somewhere,  not  only 
in  our  social  system,  but  permeating  our  financial,  commer- 
cial and  political  principles  and  even  our  governmental  acts. 
The  organization  of  unions  seeking  protection  of  special 
interests  is  not  what  the  normal  condition  of  man  would 
require.  The  normal  condition  of  man  pre-supposes  perfect 
freedom  in  all  conditions  and  stations  of  life.  The  normal 
prerogative  loses  its  prestige  as  soon  as  an  individual,  or  a 
class  of  men,  assume  an  arbitrary  position,  in  society  or  in 
business  circles. 

The  normal  condition  of  mankind  can  be  enjoyed  and 
preserved  only  under  equitable  rule  and  equal  rights,  which, 
under  all  ordinary  laws  of  nature,  operate  for  the  ^^ood  of 
all — the  heritage  due  to  every  man,  woman  and  child. 

As  soon  as  law  or  custom  favors  an\'  one  particular  class 
more  than  another,  so  soon  the  sacred  rights  of  man  are 
invaded  and  subverted,  and  the  neglected  or  slighted  portion 
resorts  to  abnormal  means  also  in  the  simple  spirit  of  self- 
defense  and  protection,  then  such  action  is  justifiable  be- 
cause it  becomes  a  necessity. 

All  antagonism,  however,  not  exercised  in  honest  compe- 
tition, seeking  its  own  advancement  at  the  price  of  another's 
loss,  is  abnormal  and  criminal. 

The  real  fundamental  principle  which  must  govern  any 
good  business  policy  in  ord^r  to  satisfy  the  normal  condition 
of  man,  individually,  socially  and  politicall3%  is  to  make 
him  the  rightful,  undisputed  owner  of  the  profits  of  Ins  oivn 
labor. 

If  you  defraud  him  of  this  you  take  away  all  the  instincts, 
all  the  attractions  that  in  his  normal  condition  bound  him 
to,  and  uiadc  liim  happy  in  his  life  and  associations. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  IO9 

Under  these  adverse  circumstances  all  manner  of  means 
were  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  regaining  their  lost  pres- 
tige or  to  ameliorate  their  changed  condition  ;  and  from  this 
desire  soon  were  called  into  existence  Labor  Unions,  Lodges, 
Granges,  Knights  of  Labor  and  similar  organizations  all 
over  the  land. 

.       ^,  ,   T  1  This  was  by  no  means  a  new  departure. 

An  Old  Idea.  ^.     .,.-'.      .  ,  \     . 

i  he  idea  ot  organization  and  concentration 

is  as  old  as  the  solid  phalanxes  of  the  Romans.    Our  country 

formed  a  federation  to  protect  its  rights  and  a  union  of  states 

to  perpetuate  its  poM-er. 

Our  military,  police  and  civil  officers  are  organized  bodies, 

intended  to  defend  and  maintain  the  rights  of  individuals^ 

which,  were  the  power  given  tJiem  to  do  so,  the  aid  of  soldiers 

and  police  and  labor  unions  would  never  be  needed. 

^.  ,       ^     ,  T,.      ^  We  have    already  said 

Give  the  Laborer  His  Own.  ,,    ^  \   '  ^^\. 

that  every  man  should  be 

the  absolute  owner  of  the  profits  of  his  own  labor  and  every 

vocation  should  yield  a  profit.     But  labor  and  capital  must 

make  a  profit  or  they  must  cease  to  exist.     The  natural 

outcome  of  every  judiciously-managed  business,  or  work,  is 

a    reasonable  gain,  or  profit.      All  legitimate  investments 

should  be  made  with  the  reaso7iable  assurance  that  a  profit 

will  accrue  therefrom.      Wages,  in  the  same  manner,  should 

be  so  regulated  that  the  wage-worker  obtains  a  reasonable 

profit  on  his  labor^  which  is  the  capital  invested  by  him  in 

the  same  enterprise. 

Immense  profits  for  the  speedy  acquisition  of  great  wealth 

cannot  be  made  while  labor  and  capital  maintain  normal 

relations  to  each  other. 

»-•      ,     .      x^        .,       T     ,  -V        What  is  really  the 

How  Much  IS  Due  the  Laborer?        r^   r  ^i     11 

profit  ot  the  laborer, 

based  on  his  apportionment  of  the  capital  invested  by  each 
party?  It  is  certainly  something  more  than  a  bare  living — 
merely  the  necessaries  of  life.  This  much  is  given  to  your 
dumb  cattle! 


no  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

The  cost  of  individual  existence  is  not  tlie  total  of  the 
laboring  man's  necessity.  His  necessity  includes  an  honest 
and  comfortable  provision  for  the  members  of  his  family; 
and  if  all  he  receives  for  his  labor,  judiciously  expended, 
barel}'  suffices  to  support  his  family,  where  are  his  profits? 
The  capitalist  is  not  satisfied  if  he  simply  realizes  the 
amount  he  invests  in  an  enterprise  with  the  usual  rate  of 
interest  He  wants  a  profit  over  and  above  that.  The 
laborer  deserves  the  same.  If  he  gets  no  more  than  a  bare 
living  he  realizes  only  what  he  invested  in  time,  skill  and 
muscle,  and  where  is  his  profit  then? 

Certainly  economy  should  be  practiced  in  their  expendi- 
tures. But  even  this  has  its  limits.  We  cannot  see  wh}' 
the  capitalist  has  license  to  live  better  than  the  laborer. 
Roast  turkey  and  champagne  no  doubt  would  tickle  the 
laboring-man's  palate  as  pleasingl}^  as  the  capitalist's.  But 
nature  has  certain  laws  and  requirements  which  no  capital 
or  poverty  can  control.  The  laboring  man,  no  more  than 
anyone  else,  can  afford  to  subsist  on  less  than  physiological 
laws  demand. 

His  famil}'  must  have  enough  health}^  food  to  eat  and 
comfortable  clothes  to  wear,  and  do  this  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  health.  Scanting  themselves  in  food  is  injur- 
ious. A  low  diet  is  the  precursor  of  disease.  A  plain  diet 
is  healthy,  but  you  must  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  it. 
Good,  nourishing  food  is  just  as  necessary  for  the  laborer 
as  the  professional  man.  While  a  plain  diet  will  suffice 
to  recruit  his  physical  powers,  more  nourishing  food  will 
add   additional    vigor,    by   which   he    ma}^    appl}^    himself 

T->  L  c  c-^    ji       to  higher  education  in  the  branches 

Branches  of  Study.     .  ,\         ,  •   ■      ,   ,.         ..     , 

•'     Q>i  study  pertaining  to  his  particular 

vocation.  It  requires  additional  nourishment  when  both 
the  physical  and  mental  powers  are  placed  in  requisition. 
Then  to  work  faithfully  and  study  the  laws  of  nature  gov- 
erning his  physical  being  and  the  science  connected  with  his 
own  business  or  vocation  demands  more  than  the  means  re- 
quired for  the  bare  necessaries  of  life. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  Ill 

Tlie  wages  of  a  laboring  man  then  should  never  be  less 
than  is  required  to  maintain  his  family  comfortably  and 
leave  linn  a  profit. 

After  acquiring  this  point  a  man's  earnings  may  be  gov- 
erned by  competition.  Skilled  labor  may  exact  a  premium 
where  it  is  specially  required,  always  regulated  by  the  de- 
mand and  based  upon  the  prevailing  scale  of  prices  legally 
adopted.  But  while  this  may  operate  to  increase  the  profits 
of  more  skillful  men,  it  would  in  no  wise  deprive  any  wage- 
worker  of  an  honest  share  of  profits. 

This  provision  would  stay  the  production  of  paupers  and 

strikes  and  contract  foreign  labor.     The  wage-earner  will 

then  feel  secure,  assured  that  his  daily  wages  are  sufficient 

to   keep   himself  and  his  family  respectably  and  procure 

some  such  small  luxuries  as  books  and  magazines  for  the 

improvement  of  the  mental  faculties,  while  he  would  still 

have  a  little  money  to  put  on  deposit  at  the  end  of  each 

year  for  any  future  emergency  that  may  possibly  arise. 

,„    ,  ^^        ,       ,         Let  us  make  a  legal  common  stand- 

Make  a  Standard.       .     r  i,  i         i  •  i 

ard  01  wages,  below  which  wages  can- 
not go.  Make  that  sufficient  to  support  an  ordinary  family 
comfortably  and  still  leave  a  profit.  Calculate  it  so  that  a 
man  still  has  a  profit,  no  matter  how  small  it  may  be. 

Then  let  honest  competition  come  in.  If  we  then  have  a 
job  which  any  common  laborer  can  do,  requiring  no  partic- 
ular skill,  and  the  work  is  worth  $1.50,  and  it  will  require 
eight  hours'  diligent  labor  to  do  it,  we  should  be  required  to 
pay  that  man  the  amount  named  though  a  dozen  men  stand 
ready  to  do  it  for  less. 

We  contend  for  a  minimum  price  for  common  labor ;  in 
fact,  a  standard  price  in  every  branch  of  industry,  below 
which  no  capital  or  competition  can  bring  it — where  capital 
and  labor  are  united  to  make  money. 

This  will  take  the  laboring  man  at  this  point  out  of  the 
hands  of  oppressing  capitalists  as  well  as  the  greedy  range 
of  unjust  competition,  by  law. 


112  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

This  would  be  absolute  protection  to  labor  and  is  in 
simple  justice  due  to  the  laborer,  his  family  and  the  nation. 
This  would  remove  the  struggle  for  mere  existence  to  a 
more  noble  ambition  for  honest  possessions. 

Spencer  and  other  scientists  claim  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence to  be  one  of  the  primary  causes  of  evolution.  It 
arouses  the  energy  necessary  to  urge  mankind  to  action,  in 
order  to  outdo  one  another;  gives  strong  impulse  to  work, 
an  incentive  to  outrun  each  the  other  in  the  race  of  life. 
If  this  is  true  in  the  mere  struggle  for  a  meagre  existence, 
how  would  a  hopeful  struggle  for  the  higher  attainment  of 
personal  possessions  arouse  the  dormant  energies  of  the 
wage-workers  of  America ! 

_     ,      , .  r  T-rr  ^  good  busiucss  man  will  not 

Reduction  of  vvages.       i    ?    i     r^     i  • 

°         only  look  alter  his  own  interests, 

but  he  will  also  consider  the  welfare  of  his  workmen. 
Philanthrop}^  enters  into  almost  every  business  transaction 
made  between  men,  more  especially  in  determining  the 
proper  remuneration  of  the  wage-earner.  Whatever  ad- 
versity employed  capital  may  have  to  meet  in  the  market, 
labor  cannot  justly  be  reduced  below  a  certain  limit.  Cap- 
ital does  not  suffer  privations  of  the  necessary  comforts  of 
life  if  it  does  not  make  a  large  profit  or  if  it  cannot  be  oper- 
ated for  more  than  cost,  so  long  as  its  owner  makes  a  living. 
This,  however,  will  not  occur  under  good  management  on 
the  part  of  the  capitalist  and  the  right  kind  of  tariff  and 
labor  legislation  on  the  part  of  the  government. 

Regarding  labor,  wages  cannot  be  reduced  below  a  certain 
minimum,  which  the  business  man  must  take  into  consid- 
eration, for  the  wages  must  alwa3's  be  considered  first  in 
managing  capital,  for  the  wage-earners  must  live  ;  and  there 
should  be  a  law  prescribing  a  standard  limit,  or  at  least  a 
precedent  established  by  the  labor  bureau  that  the  price 
of  labor  cannot  be  reduced  below  a  certain  point  in  all  con- 
cerns wL^re  labor  joins  capital  and  where  capital  is  worked 
with  a  view  of  making  money. 


GEN.  RUSSELL  N.  ALGER. 


Plate  X— For  sketch  see  page  2  21. 


CORPORATIONS   AND    UNIONS.  II3 

T  .     .,       -.  ,,,  T-.     1      i .  A    man    who     learns    a 

Limit  of  Wage  Reduction.  ^     ,  ,  .  i 

^  trade    so   he    can    take    a 

position  as  a  learned  mechanic  cannot  jnstly  be  classed 
among  the  common  laborers  and  should  be  able  to  get 
something  for  skill.  It  is  not  just  for  this  man  to  have  to 
contend  against  too  much  competition  with  cheap  labor. 
Then  there  is  a  difference  in  how  people  live,  as  to  whether 
they  can  bear  much  reduction  or  compete  with  labor  less 
accomplished.  A  man  learned,  ambitious,  who  values  per- 
sonal accomplishments,  studies  the  arts  and  sciences,  wants 
his  family  properly  educated  and  cared  for,  as  well  as  those 
who  are  rich. 


THE  WORK  AND  COST  OF  LIVING. 

"  '  Money  is  a  good  servant,  but  a  bad  master.'     It  is  useful  when 

well  employed,  but  mischievous  when  men  devote  themselves  wholly  to 

its  acqviisition." 

■  It  is  not  a  difficult  task  to  ascer- 

To  Satisfy  Hunger.  ^^.^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^-^.^^  ^.^^   ^^^ 

knowledge  we  have  at  the  present  time  of  the  mysteries  of 
the  human  system.  Physiology,  chemistry  and  the  science 
of  force — power — give  us  all  the  da^a  we  need  in  determin- 
ing the  quantity  of  food  necessary  to  sustain  that  activity 
of  our  body  called  h'/e.  The  cost  of  clothing  and  habitation 
can  also  readily  be  figured  out,  and  hence  we  can  at  least 
approximate,  at  a  minimum  limit,  the  wages  a  workingman 
must  receive  to  live  half-way  comfortably,  and  below  which 
a  reduction  of  wages  is  inhuman  and  cannot  be  tolerated 
even  though  capital  should  not  make  a  profit.  Then,  as  we 
have  already  exemplified  the  subject  under  the  head  of 
"profit  sharing"  of  the  wage-earners,  the  workingman 
should  and  must  make  more  than  the  bare  cost  of  living, 
for  there  may  be  a  time  when  he  can  t  work ;  besides  every 
head  of  a  family  should  have  a  home. 

For  a  man  to  do  a  good  day's  work  he  must  be  well  fed 
on  good,  nourishing  food  so  the  S3'Stcm  need  not  draw  on  the 
reserved  forces  of  life  and  thus  shorten  life.      An  underfed 


114  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

man  is  sliortlived ;  moreover,  he  is  predisposed  to  disease. 
Then  it  will  be  the  dut}-  of  our  labor  bureau  to  carefully 
study  this  subject  that  no  injustice  is  done.  In  all  institu- 
tions where  capital  unites  with  labor  for  the  purpose  of  gain, 
this  matter  can  readily  be  regulated  so  that  labor  will  re- 
ceive its  just  share  in  the  profits.  Yet,  whatever  may 
happen  to  capital,  there  must  be  a  limit  established  below 
which  wages  cannot  be  reduced. 

_,.       „    .  -  _  .    .  Life  is  an  activity  dependent 

The  Science  of  Living.  i      •    i       j  ..•  ^x, 

°    on  physical  conditions.      i  hese 

conditions  must  be  in  harmonious  operation  in  order  for  life 
to  proceed  in  regular  order.  Living  beings  are  not  unlike 
machines.  It  takes  force  to  run  them  ;  it  takes  fuel  to  pro- 
duce force,  and  this  must  be  constantly  and  regularl}^  sup- 
plied or  the  machine  will  not  run  evenly  or  it  ma}^  stop 
altogether. 

To  produce  force  something  must  be  consumed.  For 
example,  steam  is  the  product  of  burning  fuel,  which,  when 
mechanically  applied,  becomes  force.  Motion  is  the  begin- 
ning of  force.  Motion  develops  heat  and  this  is  convertible 
into  force.  Heat  itself  is  a  mode  of  motion  and,  therefore,  it 
is  proper  to  say  that  heat  is  an  exponent  of  force.  When 
force  is  mechanically  employed,  the  amount  used  will  equal 
the  consumption  of  fuel  in  its  production.  Life  is  depend- 
ent on  the  same  source  for  the  supply  of  force  necessarily 
expended  by  the  process  of  living.  Without  air,  wood  and 
water  we  cannot  have  steam-power.  Unless  air,  food  and 
water  combine  in  the  living  bod}^  to  support  combustion, 
the  human  machine,  like  the  former,  the  engine,  would 
soon  come  to  a  dead  halt. 

^  ..        r-,  Txr     1  To  perform  a  given  amount 

Capacity,   Power,  Work,     r        i    ^     v      i         •     .    * 

^         ■"  '  oi  work  to    be    done   m    ten 

hours  b}'  an  engine  of  one-horse-power  capacity,  the  com- 
bustion of  fuel  must  be  sufficient  to  equal  the  amount  of 
force  expended.  Hence,  if  we  emplo}''  a  horse  to  do  the 
same  work,  it  will  take  corn  and  oats  to  feed  the  horse,  from 
whicli,  b}'  the  process  of  digestion,  this  food,  with  water  and 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  II5 

the  union  of  oxygen  given  to  it  in  the  lungs,  is  converted 
into  force.  The  ultimate  of  the  combination  of  food-fuel  is 
the  same  as  in  the  former  instance ;  the  only  difference  may 
be  in  quality  and  cost  of  the  fuel. 

Perfect  combustion  is  a  saving  of  fuel  or  food  in  producing 
force.  Less  heat  is  given  off  from  your  stove  or  fire-place  if 
the  wood  or  coal  is  not  thoroughly  burned.  The  same  is 
true  of  digestion  and  assimilation ;  if  this  is  imperfect,  not 
as  much  life  force  is  produced  as  when  in  a  normal  condi- 
tion. Force,  when  applied  mechanically,  will  do  work 
equal  to  the  supply  and  no  more.  The  faster  a  machine 
runs  and  the  more  work  it  does  the  more  it  wears  and  the 
greater  amount  of  force  it  takes  to  run  it ;  the  greater  the 
amount  of  work  there  is  to  do  the  greater  amount  of  force 
Avill  be  required  to  do  it. 

Force  is  the  same,  whether 
Average  Amount  of  Food,  it  is  produced  by  vital  or  an- 
imated or  inanimate  machinery.  The  primary  source  is 
also  the  same.  Some  change  of  substance  in  the  form  of 
combustion  must  take  place  to  produce  force  or  power. 
Vital  force  in  living  bodies  is  evolved  from  food,  air  and 
water.     This  runs  the  body. 

The  average  amount  that  will  keep  an  ordinary  working- 
man  for  one  day  is  about  three  pounds  of  solid  food  and 
two  pints  of  water.  If  heavy  manual  labor  is  performed  he 
will  require  something  more.  If  he  works  at  a  furnace  he 
will  require  more  food  and  water  than  if  he  works  in  an 
even  temperature  of  seventy  degrees.  If  he  works  in  a 
much  lower  temperature  he  will  require  more.  If  he  gets 
eight  hours'  sleep  and  eight  hours'  rest  and  works  eight 
hours,  all  things  being  equal,  the  former  estimate  will  be 
sufficient  to  keep  a  man  in  good  condition,  providing  his 
digestion  is  good  and  the  food  of  good,  nutritious  quality. 

Where  men  work  hard  and  perspire .  freely  much  more 
water  is  demanded  by  the  system  than  under  ordinary 
circumstances ;  and  when  the  food  consists  largely  of  fruits 
and  garden   vegetables,  about  four  pounds  of  food  and  a 


Il6  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

little  less  than  two  pints  of  water  will  keep  a  man  suffi- 
ciently well  fed.  The  kind  of  business  or  work  men  engage 
in,  their  habits  and  quality  of  food  will  largely  modify  the 
quantity  of  food  necessary  to  produce  vital  force  enough  to 
sustain  life  and  the  amount  of  force  to  do  the  work  required 
of  them  beside  the  simple  process  of  living.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  those  who  live  a  life  of  leisure  do  not 
require  as  much  food  as  when  actively  employed.  In  mental 
activity,  as  in  case  of  the  mind  workers,  more  food  is 
required  than  in  a  life  of  leisure,  but  not  quite  as  much  as 
wdien  manual  labor  is  performed.  This  is  a  study,  if  people 
desire  to  live  in  accordance  with  nature^ s  laws. 

__      .     ^       .         A  larefe  maiority  of  the  people  eat 

Too  Much  Food.  ,  f      if  f  .i       .1, 

too  much,      it  one  eats  more  than  the 

S3^steni  demands  to  keep  the  vital  machinery  in  good  work- 
ing order,  more  than  is  required  to  perform  the  work  that 
is  to  be  done,  then  the  stomach  will  have  to  work  too  hard  to 
get  rid  of  it.  As  we  have  said,  food  produces  vital  force. 
If  we  eat  more  than  is  required  the  body  will  either  grow 
obesic  (if  digestion  is  good)  or  the  system  will  have  to  throw 
off  the  superabundance  of  material  which  has  been  unwisely 
supplied.  Besides,  this  is  a  source  of  disease.  It  is  unfor- 
tunate for  a  man  if  he  has  to  work  so  hard  that  three 
pounds  of  good,  solid  food  in  t\vent3'-four  hours  will  not 
keep  him.  For  the  work  of  the  S3'stem  to  convert  so  much 
food  into  force  weakens  the  nervous  svstem  as  well  as  the 
stomach,  and  it  is  for  these  reasons  liable  to  shorten  his  life. 
If  the  surrounding  atmosphere  is  warm  and  dr\'  the 
evaporation  from  the  body  is  then  greater,  and  from  two  to 
four  pints  of  water  is  necessary  to  be  healthy  and  strong. 
As  a  rule  people  are  more  apt  to  eat  too  much  than  to  drink 
too  much.  For  good  health  and  strength  food  and  water 
must  be  sufficiently^  and  regularly  supplied. 

/-I  -u  J    T^      J         Children  require  more  food  com- 

Children  and  Food.  ^-     1    ^1         j  1.   r    .1 

paratively  than  adults  for  the  reason 

that  they  have  to  furnish  the  s^^stem  with  material  for  grow- 
ing the  body  in  addition  to  running  the  little  vital  machine. 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  II7 

During  youth  the  bod}'  is  more  rapidly  metamorphosed,  and 
good,  substantial  food  is  necessary  to  grow  the  body,  to 
reproduce  tissue,  supply  the  vital  force  and  keep  up  repairs. 
Old  people  need  less  food  for  the  reason  that  the  body 
changes  or  wastes  ver}^  slowly. 

If  the  body  is  not  supplied  with  food,  or  in  cases  where 
food  is  not  properly  digested  so  that  the  supply  equals  the 
expenditure  of  force,  the  reserved  material  of  the  body  will 
be  drawn  upon  to  support  coiiibustion^  the  tissues  will  be 
consumed,  thus  to  generate  force  enough  to  accomplish  the 
work  to  be  done. 

Over-work,  under-feeding,  over-feeding  and  under-work 
are  conditions  that  violate  the  laws  of  health. 

Three  pounds  of  good,  solid  food,  with  two  to  three  pints 
of  pure  water,  properly  digested  and  assimilated,  will  keep 
a  man  in  good  condition,  performing  a  reasonable  amount  of 
manual  labor  eight  hours  each  day,  and  with  eight  hours' 
rest  and  eight  hours'  sweet  sleep.  This  will  not  shorten  his 
natural  longevity,  providing  his  habits  otherwise  are  within 
physiological  limits.  He  will  have  at  least  six  hours  each 
day  for  recreation,  outing  and  social  enjo3'ment,  two  hours  of 
which,  each  day,  should  be  devoted  to  mental  improvement 
— some  educational  study,  some  branch  of  science — socio- 
logical science.  jMental  labor  is  then  to  the  workingman  a 
source  of  rest,  and  in  fact  is  as  necessary  to  good  health  to 
the  wage-earner  as  to  other  people  ;  and  one  can  always  find 
some  time  for  mental  improvement  each  day,  if  people  will 
only  learn  to  divide  up  the  time  at  their  disposal  and  live 
methodically  and  systematically. 

r  T  •    •  '^^^  average  cost  of  living,  as  we  esti- 

Cost  of  Living.  ^^^^^^  .^  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^.^  ^f  ^  f^j^-^y  ^f  £^^ 

keeping  house — the  actual  cost  of  food  and  the  cost  of 
cooking  it,  where  the  wife  does  the  cooking,  or,  in  another 
way  of  writing  it,  where  the  housekeeper  is  one  of  the 
family  and  does  not  have  to  be  hired,  is  about  $18.00  per 
month.  Where  the  family  has  a  kitchen  garden — and  every 
well  regulated  family  should  have  one — this  sum  can  be 


Il8  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

reduced  several  dollars  during  tlie  summer  montlis.  But 
the  extra  cost  of  fuel  during  tlie  winter  will  make  the 
average^  as  we  have  stated,  at  about  $18.00  per  month. 

This,  of  course,  will  not  give  the  family  many  costly 
luxuries,  but  it  will  furnish  good,  wholesome  food.  Still 
hundreds  of  families  are  obliged  to  subsist  somehow  on 
much  less. 

The  next  item  we  will  mention  is  rent.     This  we  place  at 

$8.00  a  month.     Of  course  those  who  own  their  homes  will 

save  the  larger  part  of  this  item.     The  item  of  clothing  we 

will    place  at  an  average  of  about  $65.00  a  year  for   the 

family  of  five.     This  will  aggregate  $377.00.     The  wages 

paid  by  our  railroad  corporations  to  their  employees,  whom 

we  will  take  as  a  criterion  to  give  us  a  starting  data  of  what 

is  considered  generally  by  the  wage-earners  as  reasonably 

good  wages  for  unskilled  labor,  is  $40.00  per  month.     Here 

we  have  now  the  head  of  this  family  receiving  $40.00  per 

month,  and  if  nothing  happens,  no  time  lost,  no  sickness, 

there  will  be  a  saving,  or  profit,  if  we  may  call  it  such,  of 

$103.00  a  year. 

_      .  ,      ,    ,  Now,   shall  we  include   incidentals  in  the 

Incidentals.  -,  ^  ^  ,      ^,  ^    r  v  • 

sums  we  have  stated  as  the  cost  of  living,  or 

is  our  figure  already  large  enough  to  cover  little  wants  that 
come  up  every  day  which  we  never  know  of  beforehand? 
Little  presents  for  the  children,  a  brief  outing  in  the  summer, 
or  a  short  vacation,  which  is  only  to  break  the  tiresome 
monotony  of  life.  Then  every  family  should  buy  a  book 
or  two  each  year,  keep  one  newspaper,  a  good  family  paper 
and  one  good  monthly  magazine.  For  these  latter  items, 
and  some  unavoidable  loss  in  time  and  possibl}'  unforseen 
mishaps,  we  will  deduct  $47.00,  and  we  have  now  in  the 
savings-bank  $56.00,  which,  if  carefully  invested  each  3'ear, 
will  in  ten  years  make  quite  a  sum  toward  paying  for  a  vine- 
clad  little  home,  where  the  days  of  ripened  years  may  be 
spent  in  comparative  ease,  enjoyment  and  independence. 
Many  peoples  get  more  wages  than  we  have  calculated  and 
many  get  much  less.      Under  all  circuinslances  and  condi- 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  1 19 

tions  peoples  should  not  neglect  a  careful  study  of  house- 
hold economy  tliat  tliey  may  shape  their  mode  of  living  to 
suit  their  income.* 

"Agur's  prayer,"  says  Colton,  "  Will  ever  be  the  prayer  of  the 
wise.  Our  incomes  should  be  like  our  shoes  ;  if  too  small,  they  will 
gall  and  pinch  us,  but  if  too  large,  they  will  cause  us  to  stumble  and 
to  trip.  But  wealth,  after  all,  is  a  relative  thing;  since  he  that  has 
little,  and  wants  less,  is  richer  than  he  that  has  much,  but  wants  more. 
True  contentment  depends  not  upon  what  we  have,  but  upon  what  we 
would  have  ;  a  tub  was  large  enough  for  Diogenes,  but  a  world  was  too 
little  for  Alexander.'' 

Horace. —  We  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  the  words  of 
one  of  the  wisest  authors  and  thinkers  the  world  ever  kneiv — 
tlie  great  Horace.     He  says  : 

"  Whoever  makes  choice  of  the  golden  mean,  safe  from  all  the  ills  of 
poverty,  is  not  compelled  to  dwell  amid  the  wretchedness  of  some  mis- 
erable abode;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  moderate  in  his  desires,  he 
needs  not  the  splendid  palace,  the  object  of  envy." 
"The  man,  within  the  golden  mean 

Who  can  his  boldest  wish  restrain, 

Securely  views  the  ruined  cell 

Where  sordid  want  and  sorrow  dwell, 

And,  in  himself  serenely  great, 

Declines  an  envied  room  of  state." 


HOW  "TRAMPS"  ARE  MADE. 

A  person  who  journeys  on  foot  is 
What  is  a  Tramp?  ^^Hed  a  pedestrian.  Those  who  go 
from  place  to  place,  having  no  particular  destination,  are 
wanderers.  If  obliged  to  travel  on  foot  for  want  of  funds 
and  no  specific  object  in  view,  peregrinating  from  place  to 
place,  such  are  vagrants,  popularly  called  "tramps."  This 
country  has  altogether  too  many  so-called  "tramps."  Many 
start  out  in  search  of  employment  with  a  view  of  bettering 


^i'We  take  up  this  subject  again  in  the  department  of  ''Random 
Tlicnights,''  in  this  volume,  under  the  head  of  "The  Chemistry  of  the 
Kitchen"  and  "  How  to  Make  Little  go  Far,"  to  which  we  refer  our 
readers. 


I20  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

their  condition.     Others  are  forced  to  go  forth  to  find  work, 

and  soon  their  funds  give  out  and  they  become  "  tramps," 

_,,      ,^   ,  _  We  have  the  voluntary  tramp, 

The  Voluntary  Tramp.      ,  .       ^    ^  j  i 

•'  ^    wlio  prefers  to  tramp   and  beg 

rather  than  to  work.  The  primary  cause  of  such  a  condi- 
tion is  perhaps  outside  of  any  philosophy  by  which  to  solve 
the  mystery  other  than  that  there  is  a  constitutional  indif- 
ference to  self-respect  and  an  innate  laziness,  for  which  there 
seems  to  be  no  remedy  other  than  perhaps  a  strict  legal 
prohibition  of  vagrancy.  If  every  city,  town  or  precinct 
enacted  a  law,  and  enforced  it,  that  all  strangers  having  no 
visible  means  of  subsistence  are  apprehended  and  required 
to  comply  with  the  law,  soon  this  evil  might  be  materially 
modified,  if  not  entirely  driven  from  the  land. 

_,,       T         ,      ^  _,  Then  we  have  the  involun- 

The  Involuntary  Tramp.  ^        ^  ,         ,.  , 

"^  ^    tary  tramp,   who  enlists    our 

sympathy.  Thousands  of  this  class  are  distributed  through- 
out the  country  and  are  made^  in  many  instances,  by  circum- 
stances over  which  they  have  no  control — bad  luck,  as  goes 
the  word.  An  extensive  manufacturing  establishment  burns 
down,  throwing  a  hundred,  perhaps  a  thousand  or  more, 
people  out  of  employment.  The  works  nia}^  be  rebuilt,  but 
the  chances  are  they  are  not ;  at  all  events  these  people  who 
have  no  capital  to  fall  back  on  must  work  to  live,  and  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  not  all  can  get  a  job  in  the  town  in 
which  they  live,  and  so  they  start  out  in  search  of  work. 
This  is  not  so  discouraging  as  long  as  their  money  holds 
out,  as  when,  by  and  by,  they  are  broken  in  spirit  and  in 
purse,  absolutely  become  disheartened.  No  hope,  no  pros- 
pect, no  one  to  speak  kind  words — all  is  given  up  for  lost. 
He  enters  the  ranks  of  a  tramp. 

Once  in  this  line,  or  lane,  it  is  a  long  run  before  a  turn  is 
likely  met  with. 

.       ,,         ,,y  Another    way  involuntary  tramps    are 

Another  Way.         ,       a    i^  •     i  ^'  ^ 

made :    A   town    is   boomed    b}-  some  en, 

terprising  speculator,  hundreds  flock  in  with  a  hope  of  bet- 
tering their  condition,  often  leaving  a  good  situation,  only 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  121 

to  find  they  liave  been  misled  and  may,  before  an  oasis  is 
reached,  become  tramps. 

Anotber  factor  to  the  entrance-way  of  the  bonrn  of  the 
tramp,  from  which  few  ever  return,  is :  We  are  acquainted 
with  a  rich  farmer  and  real  estate  speculator,  near  the  city  of 
Dayton,  Ohio,  who  had  a  very  faithful  farm-hand,  whom  he 
hired  in  the  month  of  March  at  $20  a  month  by  the  year. 
The  work-hand  did  all  in  his  power  to  please  his  employer 
and  even  when,  during  the  harvest  time,  he  might  have 
earned  big  wages,  went  right  on,  however,  with  his  work, 
hoping  and  feeling  assured  that  he  had  steady  employment. 
But  to  his  surprise,  about  the  first  of  November,  when  the 
farm  work  was  pretty  well  out  of  the  way  and  when  he 
might  have  had  an  easier  time  during  the  winter,  his  em- 
ployer thought  now  that  there  was  not  much  else  to  do  than 
to  feed  the  stock  and  care  for  the  horses — and  he  himself 
could  do  that — discharged  him,  with  the  remark  that  if  he 
was  out  of  work  in  the  spring  he  could  get  back  to  his  old 

place.     Now  what  was  this  man  to 
In  Search  of  a  Job.  ^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  -^  ^^^^^^  ^f  ^ 

job?  At  this  season  of  the  year  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  get  work,  unless  some  one  else  would  step  out  of  a  place 
and  let  him  step  in.  He  had  saved  his  money,  but  sickness 
overtook  him,  and  before  spring  we  met  this  same  man  in 
Terrehaut,  Indiana,  broken-hearted,  in  search  of  work.  He 
had  then  tramped  it  for  over  a  week,  and  totally  out  of 
money.  We  paid  his  board  for  two  weeks,  when  he  was 
fortunate  in  getting  employment. 

A  man  w^ith  a  large  family  is  employed  in  a  Wisconsin 
lumbering  factory.  He  gets  good  wages,  but  he  is  on  for 
twelve  hours  per  day's  work,  and  thus  he  alternates  with 
another.  He  is  induced  to  buy  one  of  the  company's  tene- 
ment houses  on  the  installment  plan.  Now  it  is  well  known 
that  this  kind  of  work  is  not  very  conducive  to  health. 
Some  last  longer  than  others,  but  the  average  is  about  four 
years,  when  he  begins  to  break  down ;  now  and  then  fails  to 


122  CORrORATlONS    AND    UNIONS. 

take  his  place  for  a  day  or  two.     By  and  by  lie 
^  ^*  is   obliged  to   "knock  off"    for  a  week  and 

longer.  He  loses  his  place.  He  is  discharged.  His  little 
home  is  not  yet  all  paid.  He  starts  out  in  search  of  lighter 
work,  but  after  awhile  any  kind  of  work,  if  he  could  only 
get  it.  He  thinks  he  might  be  able  to  stand  an3^tliing  to 
save  his  home.  His  wife  takes  in  washing,  or  sewing 
— several  of  the  children  are  beginning  to  earn  a  few  pen- 
nies. A  mere  living  is  made,  but  the  payments  on  the 
home  can  no  longer  be  met;  interest,  insurance  and  taxes 
are  beginning  to  be  compounded  in  such  a  manner  that 
under  the  circumstances  it  is  impossible  to  ever  liquidate 
the  indebtedness.  For  a  while  this  family  is  tolerated  as 
trespassers,  just  long  enough  to  keep  down  moral  censure, 
but  at  last  the  mortgage  is  foreclosed,  the  family  is  evicted, 
and  the  property  is  again  sold  to  another  who  is  willing  to 
take  his  chances  to  cope  with  the  situation. 

c^A.        TTTt  TT         A  A  orood  rule  is  to  stay  where 

Stay  Where  You  Are.  ^       rr      i  ■         . 

you  are.  it  a  change  is  contem- 
plated, every  side  and  point  should  be  well  considered,  from 
before  and  after  thought  of  view,  and  then  act.  A  judicious- 
business  man  never  rushes  headlong  into  new  adventures, 
and  a  common  laboring  man  should  be  equally  careful,  for 
his  labor  and  his  health  are  his  capital,  and,  b}'  injudi- 
cious management  he  may  be  just  as  unfortunate  as  the 
man  who  has  more  money  than  forethought.  A  celebrated 
writer  on  "how  to  get  on  in  the  world,"  says  that  there  are 
two  ways  to  get  on  in  the  world.  One  way  is  to  sta}^  where 
you  are  and  the  world  will  come  to  you.  Another  is  to  go^ 
out  into  the  world,  to  go  forth,  to  move,  to  venture. 

The  busy  hands  that  restle-;sly  nnfokl 

To  hibor — thouj^fh  they  gather  little  goll  — 

Work  for  the  world  a  henelit  untold ; 

Cheerfully  aid  the  weak,  u])hold  the  strong, 

And,  by  their  work,  help  induh.try  along. 

Are  worthy  of  the  poet's  sweetest  song. 

When  nun  and  master— if  a  master  be 

To  claim  a  peerage  in  huiuanily — 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  123 

With  one  accord,  in  peaceful  harmony, 

Work  each  to  the  same  end — each  one  to  gain, 

Unchecked  by  classes,  or  distinctions  vain — 

That  which  was  meant  each  factor  to  sustain, 

That  freedom,  with  its  all-pervading  grace. 

Assigning  each  its  undisputed  place, 

Will  "  Work  and  Capital''  at  once  efface. 

When  each  in  his  own  sphere  is  satisfied. 

Their  work  and  means  to  the  same  end  applied, 

There  is  no  line  their  honors  to  divide  ; 

Then  labor,  to  the  humblest  of  the  free, 

A  crown  of  glory,  just  as  bright  will  be 

As  that  surmounts  the  head  of  royalty  ; 

Its  blessings  bring  the  toiler  recompense 

More  noble  than  man's  worshipped  pounds  and  pence. 

.  .  There  are  monstrosities  in  every  depart- 

Monstrosities.  ^^^^^^  ^^  nature.  A  monstrosity  is  a  thing 
out  of  the  common  order  of  nature.  The  word  is  applicable 
not  only  to  beings  but  moral  conduct — inonstrous  brutality 
and  monstrous  education.  South  says  :  "  We  often  read  of 
monstrous  birds,  but  we  see  a  greater  monstrosity  in  educa- 
tion, when  a  father  begets  a  son  and  trains  him  up  like  a 
beast."  We  erroneously  limit  the  meaning  of  the  word  to 
things  hideous  in  nature:  deformities  of  body,  cruelty  of 
character,  ferocity  of  animals,  &c.,  or  to  high  stature, 
or  enormity  of  size  ;  but  it  is  equally  applicable  to  things 
of  a  less  repulsive  nature.  Dryden  says  :  "Who  with  his 
wife  is  monstrously  in  love,"  using  the  word  in  the  sense  of 
extravagance,  excess.  Thus  a  mountain  or  a  man  may  be 
of  monstrous  size,  while  a  person  or  a  dog  may  be  mon- 
strously cruel. 

The  general  idea  of  monster,  however,  is  a  great,  hideous, 
overgrown  being,  animal  or  thing.  Giants  of  old  were 
called  monsters.  The  leviathan  and  the  behemoth  were 
monsters  in  the  animal  kingdom.  But  there  are  moral 
monsters — persons  with  monstrous  principles.  There  are 
monstrous  creeds,  doctrines,  theories  and  laws,  as  hideous 
and  cruel  in  their  influence  as  the  monsters  in  the  forest 
and  the  great  deep. 


124  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

.  The  monsters  of  ancient  times,  described  in 

^°  *   mythology,   or  the    pseudo  historic    works    of 

some  of  the  ancient  writers,  are  now  extinct,  if  they  ever 
existed. 

That  giants  existed  is  proven  be^'ond  successful  contra- 
diction. That  the  leviathan  of  Egypt  or  the  behemoth 
(the  Arabian  ox,  or  elephant)  was  not  altogether  a  myth, 
scientists  will  admit.  But  they  have  passed  awa\'  with 
other  creatures  of  the  antediluvian  age. 

Goliath — the  children  of  Anak,  as  big  as  trees, — ]\Iilton's 
"Giants  of  mighty  bone  and  great  emprise," 
and  the  giants  who  built  the  great  basaltic  pillars  in  Ire- 
land's famous  "Causeway,"  are  known  no  more,  save  in 
history.  Their  day  of  usefulness  is  passed  ;  the  world  needs 
them  no  more. 

^TT     »T       t  -T-1  1.T      niT  By  a  general  law  of  nature 

We  Need  Them  No  More.     ,,  -^,    ^.    ,       ,  . 

all  physical  and  mental  ex- 
istence not  needed  gradually  becomes  extinct.  Monster 
animals,  huge  lizards  and  birds  were  mere  scavengers  of 
the  soil  builders — races  of  men  living  ages  ago,  having 
passed  away,  as  the  Indians  of  our  countr}^  will  soon  do. 
And  in  the  track  of  the  red  man  follows  the  solitary  relic  of 
the  vast  herds  of  buffalo  once  crowding  our  prairies.  We 
need  them  no  longer.  Extermination,  propagation,  wise  gen- 
eration, civilization  and  domestication  of  man  and  beast  have 
all  a  tendency  toward  the  useful  and  the  good.  Republics 
rise  upon  the  ruins  of  fallen  monarchies.  Persia,  Babylon, 
Greece,  Rome  served  their  day,  then  departed,  while  new 
republics  are  born  almost  every  year  ;  and  we  may  safel}' 
predict  that  before  America  celebrates  the  second  anniver- 
sary of  the  declaration  of  independence  nearh^  all  the 
strong  monarchial  governments  of  Europe  will  be  metamor- 
phosed by  the  principles  underlying  the  civil  government 
of  our  country.  Evolution  pursues  its  course  of  chau'i:- 
ing  and  improving  the  world  silently  but  sureh'.  Behold 
its  work  of  a  century  only!  A  monarch,  in  either  church 
or  state,  dare  not  place  his  foot  on  Auierican  soil  and  exer- 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS.  1 25 

cise  the  imperial  functions  of  his  office.     Princes  are  aliens 

in  this  country,  and  lords,  aside  from  their  good  qualities  of 

manhood,  are  only  birds  of  plumage.     Ostentation  is  toler- 

,  ,     .      ,  ^    ,     ,        ,      v-r   ,  ated  and  nobility  admired 

Admired  Only  by  the  Vulgar.  ^^,y  ^^  ^^^  ^^j^^^  ^^^ 

the  vain  ;  the  nobility  only  affiliate  with  the  rich  to  secure 
their  shekels.  The  march  of  progress  displaces  or  eradi- 
cates all  these  civil  and  social  monstrosities  as  well  as  those 
existing  in  physical  nature.  Why  not  accompany  evolution 
in  its  course,  allow  ourselves  to  drift  along  in  the  safe  cur- 
rent it  pursues,  instead  of  clinging  to  monstrosities,  moral, 
social  and  political,  which,  while  they  must  eventually  die, 
may  still  for  the  present  do  us  great  injury  ? 

In  some  countries  where  these  titled  men  and  women 
display  their  pomp  and  royalty,  exists  another  lawful  mon- 
strosity of  these  titled  "lords  of  creation,"  which  we 
sincerely  trust  evolution  may  soon  pass  out  of  existence. 
This  monstrosity  is  known  by  the  name  of  "  pauper." 
During  the  last  decade  these  lords  and  potentates  have  been 
painfully  impressed  with  the  idea  that  these  paupers  are  a 
great  nuisance  to  them,  and  instead  of  waiting  for  the  reg- 
ular course  of  evolution  to  extinguish  them,  they  most 
earnestly  recommend  emigration,  particularly  to  America. 
How  successful  thej^  were  in  this  movement  the  influx  of 

tens  of  thousands 
The  Influx  of  Tens  of  Thousands,  aemonstrates. 

Counter  force  should  be  brought  to  bear  by  our  government 
in  this  case.  At  least  we  think  the  time  has  come  when 
emigration  should  be  regulated,  if  not  prohibited,  and  none 
be  allowed  to  land  here  unless  possessed  of  certain  qualifi- 
cations. This  is  one  of  our  social  and  political  inonstrosities. 
It  is  a  gross  injustice  to  the  wage-workers  of  America — 
especially  if  they  are  American.? — to  allow  the  cheap  labor 
of  Europe,  or  any  foreign  country,  to  come  here  and  enter 
into  unequal  competition  with  the  skill  and  industry  be- 
gotten with  time  and  patience  on  our  own  soil.  With 
entirely  different  tastes  and  education,  with  different  habits, 


126  CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

formed  thrQUgli  life,  it  is  impossible  for  our  laboring  men 
*to  meet  them  on  equal  ground.  An  American  workman  is 
accustomed  to  a  good,  substantial  meal,  and  a  comfortable 
home,  a  clean  bed,  and,  if  a  typical  son  or  daughter  of 
America,  the  enjo3'ment  of  an  annual  vacation,  and  the 
reading  of  a  book,  or  regular  perusal  of  a  good  magazine 
— while  these  foreign  competitors  are  content  with  a  bed  of 
straw,  make  their  meal  from  a  battered  pail  between  their 
knees,  huddle  together  and  live  in  squalor — thus  being 
enabled  to  live  on  half  the  wages  human  cleanliness  and 
social  decency  require. 

"But,"  asks  one  of  my  opponents,  "  if  their  mode  of 
living  is  good  enough  for  them,  why  not  for  our  workmen?" 
Let  me  answer  that  question  by  asking  another:  "If  some 
men  make  a  living  by  stealing,  why  should  not  all  men  be 
thieves?"  That  idea  is  one  of  the  grim  "monstrosities"  of 
the  age,  which  must  and  Mall  be  evolutionized.  The  spirit 
of  the  age  calls  for  elevation^  not  degradation. 

For  the  avoidance  of  this  pauper-emigration  "mon- 
strosity," evolution  in  the  shape  of  protective  tariff  is  a  farce. 
You  must  put  up  barriers  and  close  the  gates.  But  this 
monstrosity  must  become  extinct,  for 

The  evil,  be  it  of  what  sort  it  will — 
Social  or  civil — known  as  evil  still 
Must  die.     E'er  since  creation's  birth 
The  evil  that  has  cursed  our  mother  earth 
Has  been  short-lived — while  true  and  good 
Has  lived  to  bless  our  human  brotherhood. 


COMPETITION;  EIGHT  HOORS. 


The  Ufe  of  Trade;  Men  Will  Do  Their  Best;  Ainbihon; 
Eight-Hoiir  System;  Fiindcnnental  Reasons;  Hours  for 
Trajfic;  Intellectnal  Trusts;  Mental  Profit;  The  Law 
Must  Favor  It;  Immigration;  How  It  Should  Be 
Regulated  by  Laiv;   The  Most  Liberal  Viezu,  Etc.^  Etc. 


"Easy  is  the  descent  from  Avernus  to  the  lower  world;  but,  to 
retrace  one's  steps  and  escape  to  the  upper  regions,  this  is,  indeed,  a 
work  of  difficulty  ;    this  is,  indeed,  a  task." 

^,       ,  .^        ^  ^       ,  ]\Ian  by  nature,   iu  his  most  ad- 

The  Life  of  Trade.  ,/.,'..       .    ,    ^ 

vanced  physical  condition,  is  but  an 

imperfect  creature,  untamed,  unlearned  and  inexperienced. 
In  all  liis  various  exigencies  lie  is  still  in  want  of  something 
and  knows  not  how  to  find  it.  Had  he  come  into  existence 
perfected  he  would  have  remained  without  wants  and,  per- 
haps, without  ambition.  But  the  necessities  arising  daily  in 
his  material  life,  and  the  desire  to  supply  those  necessities, 
makes  him  alert  and  watchful  to  discover  the  means  to  that 
end.  By  this  his  utility  is  developed.  And  while  each  of 
his  neighbors  and  acquaintances  are  equally  bent  on  the 
same  achievement,  it  behooves  him  to  do  his  utmost  to  keep 
pace  with  or,  if  he  can,  outdo  all  of  them.  This,  of  course, 
awakens  activity,  causes  "hustling,"  and,  as  in  primeval 
times,  the  fittest  gets  the  most. 

Competition  creates  activity  and  activity  creates  business 
and  trade.  Then  don't  be  afraid  of  competition,  though 
this  may  cause  friction,  for,  from  the  very  fact  that  such  is 
the  case,  it  will  stimulate  improvement 
imu  a  es.  ^^^  make  industry  and  trade  more  active 
in  almost  all  departments.  In  fact  competition  enters  into 
and  is  largely  the  actuating  principle  of  almost  all  com- 
mercial enterprise.     As  soon  as  the  rudimental  principles 


1 28  compktition;  kight  hours. 

imdeilying  the  possible  construction  of  a  sewing-macliine 
were  discovered,  competition  was  aroused  and  scores  of  dor- 
mant minds  were  awakened  and  engaged  in  the  further 
development  of  this  desirable  industry.  Before  long  various 
and  still  much-needed  improvements  were  made,  the  demand 
was  increased,  manufactories  sprang  up  all  over  the  country 
to  supply  the  demand  and  business  was  stimulated  in  var- 
ious departments  of  iron  and  wood  products.  The  intro- 
duction of  sheet  steel,  sheet  copper,  galvanized  iron,  by  late 
discoveries  in  metal urgy,  the  further  practical  developments 
of  the  usefulness  of  electricity,  has  stimulated  business  by 
calling  into  action  additional  capital  and  capitalists,  requir- 
ing men  and  skill  in  the  production  of  articles  long  in 
competition  in  the  markets  of  other  lands. 

As  long  as  man  has  needs 
Men  Will  Do  Their  Best.  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  supplied,  self- 

preservation  will  impel  him  to  find  means  to  supply  them  if 
possible.  A  man  will  under  all  circumstances  give  all  in 
defense  of  his  life,  and  as  long  as  there  are  means  available 
to  preserve  it  he  will  make  use  of  them.  While  in  all  ulte- 
rior matters  he  ma^^  be  indifferent  or  careless,  when  ambi- 
tion, with  clipped  wings,  hides  itself  after  failing  to  attain 
to  fame  or  power,  the  absolute  necessaries  of  life  still  goad 
him  on  to  renewed  efforts  to  help  himself  and  those  depend- 
ing on  his  endeavors.  He  may  exhaust  all  his  resources 
and  yet  be  unsuccessful  against  all  adverse  circumstances 
or  overwhelming  opposition,  still  battling  manfully  and 
honestly  with  the  available  forces  at  his  command,  he  has 
done  his  best  and  must  be  exonerated  from  blame  if  he  fails 
in  the  attempt. 

^     ^_     ,_  Men  often  blame 

The  Government  Can  Do  No  More.  ^ , 

the     government 

for  not  doing  more  than  it  does  to  stimulate  trade,  and, 
while  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  might  do  more  than  it  does, 
with  all  its  machinery  employed  in  the  interest  of  political 
advancement  for  its  favorite  party  and  political /'r^/'r^^^,  still, 
if  the  government  could  for  a  little  while  forget  its  political 


r^fcif? 


^^%    ^m-M 


Qc.  M.  PULLMAN. 
Pig.  1. 


P.  M.  ARTHUR. 
Fig.  2. 


MRS.  MARGARET  GIBSON. 
FiK.  3. 


JOHN  P.  HAINES. 
Fig.  4. 


Plate  XI— For  sketches  see  pages  22  1  and  222. 


competition;  eight  hours.  129 

foundlings  and  magnanimously  look  to  the  interests  of  its 
laboring  classes,  they  could  do  no  more  than  to  encourage 
honest  competition.  This  is  all  the  people  can  expect  the 
government  to  do,  unless  it  is  to  give  them  an  open  field. 

The  government  should,  and  7nus(y 
An  Open  Field,  g^^^^^ntee  to  its  people  a  fair  and  open 
field  for  the  exercise  of  their  political  and  business  functions. 
As  soon  as  it  creates  barriers  or  obstructions,  so  soon  it 
commits  commercial  suicide.  When  it  opens  its  gates  to 
unlicensed  and  indiscriminate  traffic,  it  kills  honest  compe- 
tition. When  it  favors  the  wealthy  fczv  and  ignores  the 
industrious  many,  it  abuses  its  power.  When  it  protects  all 
alike  in  honest  competition,  its  prerogative  is  honestly  exer- 
cised. Destroy  competition  and  anarchy  stands  ready  to 
speed  the  arrow  of  destruction. 

No  matter  how  high  or  how  low 
It  is  an  Educator.  ^^^  standard  of  a  man  or  a  nation 
may  be,  practically  there  is  always  room  for  improvement 
and  advancement.  Education,  in  commerce,  mechanism  and 
science  of  living,  is  just  as  essential  as  in  the  most  abstruse 
problems  of  astronomy  or  physiology. 

"'7>>  education  forms  the  common  mind'^  from  the  mas- 
tering of  the  Alpha  to  the  Omega  in  the  lessons  of  human  life. 
It  is  unsafe  for  the  solon  or  the  booby  to  jump  at  conclusions. 
The  greatest  achievements  of  this,  or  any  age,  were  accom- 
plished by  study.  And  in  all  the  various  epochs  of  history 
competition  accomplished  the  greatest  results.  Demos- 
thenes, while  declaiming  to  the  sea,  climbing  mountains 
with  pebbles  under  his  tongue  to  improve  his  speech,  pur- 
suing his  studies  in  a  hermit's  cave,  was  actuated  by  a 
spirit  of  competition.  His  country  boasted  of  its  orators ; 
he  competed  with  them  in  greatness.  Education  and  train- 
ing made  him  the  ruling  power  of  a  mighty  empire  and 
competition  spurred  him  on.  Then  let  the  workingmen  of 
America  educate  themselves  for  the  work  before  them.- 
Utilize  their  time,  their  opportunities  to  understand  the 
advantages  competition  offers  them  and  let  its  various  oper- 


130  competition;  eight  hours. 

ations — as  it  certainly  will  do  if  properly  studied  and  under- 
stood— educate  them  in  tlie  science  of  econom}^ ;  and  the 
lessons  they  will  learn  from  this  spirit  of  competition  will 
make  them  stronger  and  nobler  in  the  battle  for  their 
''inalienable  rights." 

•^  .  .  .r,.,.,,  ^  .  ^  .  .1  T-.  .  You  may  place 
Fnction  Will  Bring  Out  the  Best.  t,,„  3,iid  sticks  of 

sound  wood  side  by  side  and  they  will  lie  in  close  proximity 
until  they  decay  without  showing  any  activity.  But  should 
you  take  those  two  lifeless  sticks  and  rub  them  vigorously 
against  each  other  for  a  time  j^ou  would  then  see  the  life  in 
them.  First  they  create  warmth,  then  the  sparks  begin  to 
fly,  and  ere  long  they  will  kindle  a  fire  larger  than  that 
which  burned  down  a  great  city.  That  is  friction,  which 
serves  the  universe  in  so  many  ways  through  its  myste- 
rious mechanism.  And  that  is  what  competition  arouses. 
If  all  the  means  and  advantages  in  the  business  or  commer- 
cial world  were  left  in  the  hands  of  a  few  passive  or  inactive 
men,  our  industry  would  lose  its  name  in  idleness — but 
once  let  the  vigorous  hands  of  competition  begin  to  pumice 
them,  then  life  will  permeate  the  dead  bones,  open  the 
closed  arteries  and  start  new  life  in  business  avenues.  By 
all  means  give  us  more  friction  by  giving  us  more  honest 
competition.  Competition  is  not  only  a  lever  to  a  man's 
activity,  but  it  is  the  ambition  of  a  boy. 

_,,        .      ,  ., .  ^       ,-»  From  the  earliest  childhood 

The  Ambition  of  a  Boy.        ^    ^    r     ^1     1         ^    • 

-^     contests  lor  the  largest  piece 

of  tart  or  the  largest  share  of  jam  down  to  the  battle  with 
the  last  champion  of  life,  man  has  been  in  competition  with 
man. 

The  boy  in  his  school  days  is  ambitious  either  to  be 
at  the  head  of  his  class,  or  to  beat  his  comrade  in  marbles, 
or  to  "lick  any  boy  of  his  size  in  school."  If  of  a  studious 
nature,  his  ambition  is  to  outdo  his  classmates  in  all  their 
studies ;  and,  if  it  is  only  for  the  love  of  study,  the  good  it 
will  do  himself  and — by  proper  application — to  others,  his 
ambition    is  laudable.      If,  on    the    contrar}-,  his    object    is 


competition;  eight  hours.  131 

selfish,  onl}^  to  gratify  his  own  vanity,  the  spirit  of  compe- 
tition he  manifests  awakens  a  corresponding  degree  of 
activity  on  the  part  of  his  classmates  and  nrges  them  on  to 
greater  efforts,  thns  doing  good  to  both  parties.  So  even  in 
boyish  ambition  competition  has  its  salutary  effects.  The 
dreams  of  boyhood  ambition  have  often  been  realized  in 
manhood  days.  But  it  was  done  by  the  hard  rubbing 
against  opposing  obstacles,  the  polish  of  friction  and  the 
firm  but  honest  competition  with  which  he  urged  his  way 
onward  and  upward.  No  great  man  ever  attempted  or 
gained  his  greatness  without  being  influenced  by  a  spirit 
•of  competition. 


THE   EIGHT-HOUR   SYSTEM. 

"  Wise  work  is  useful.  No  man  minds,  or  ought  to  mind,  its  being 
liard,  if  only  it  comes  to  something.  Of  all  wastes,  the  greatest  waste 
you  can  commit  is  the  waste  of  labor." — John  Ruskin. 

There  has  been  much  said  and  written  on  the  eight-hour 
system,  pro  and  con^  and  while  both  sides  advance  argu- 
ments worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  consideration,  we 
think  the  system  is  one  that,  if  adopted  and  properly  man- 
aged would  result  in  great  good. 

,   _  The    many  discoveries,  both 

Fundamental  Reasons.  j_^  ^^;^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^1  ^^^^^^_ 

ism,  were,  as  we  believe,  intended  to  lighten  the  burden  of 
manual  labor.  Every  thing  exists  for  a  specific  purpose 
and  is  intended  for  the  good  of  mankind.  "So  far  shalt 
thou  go  and  no  further"  applies  not  only  to  the  dashing 
billows  of  ocean,  but  to  every  object  or  purpose  in  which 
mankind  has  an  interest.  The  tide  may  harmlessly  rush 
over  its  usual  boundaries  for  a  time,  but  in  the  end  it  may 
do  lauch  mischief  b}^  robbing  us  of  much  otherwise  avail- 
able territory.  Ten  hours'  work  may  not  perceptibly  imme- 
diately manifest  its  debilitating  influence  upon  the  hardy 
sons  of  toil,  but,  like  the  slow  washing  of  the  sea,  it  will 
make  its  mark  upon  the  generations  to  come. 


132  competition;  kight  hours. 

The  discoveries  of  late  years  were  intended  to  lighten 
labor.  For  what  other  purpose  could  they  be  intended? 
By  them  more  work  can  be  accomplished  in  eight  hours 
than  could  be  performed  without  them  in  ten.  And  as  these 
labor-saving  machines  are  intended  to  lighten  labor  the 
time  should  be  shortened.  The  primary  object  of  labor  is 
to  make  a  livelihood  and  the  exercise  it  gives  is  intended  to 
promote  health,  not  to  injure  it  by  undue  exercise  of  physical 
power.  Labor  has  a  right  to  benefit  by  these  discoveries. 
Capital  should  not  absorb  all  of  it,  for  the  purpose  of 
amassing  wealth  more  easily  and  rapidly.  Its  advantage 
lies  in  the  saving  of  expense,  life  and  energy;  and  the 
laborer  as  well  as  the  capitalist  has  a  right  to  share  in  these 
advantages. 

_,.-.,_  In   the   prime  of  life  and  the 

Physiological  Reason.  r  1,     j       1  i.    • 

•'  °  vigor     01    manhood  a    laboring- 

man  can  do  more,  accomplish  and  endure  more,  than  when 
years  have  told  on  him.  The  power  of  endurance  be- 
comes exhausted,  if  overtaxed,  much  sooner  than  if  his 
physical  powers  are  carefull}-  husbanded.  Life  carefully 
preserved  in  youth  will  give  vigor  and  strength  to  old  age. 
Extravagance  in  anything  depletes.  Anything  overdone 
can  never  be  renewed.  As  the  water  which  has  once  passed 
the  mill  can  no  more  be  used  to  run  its  wheel,  so  ph3'sical 
energy  once  spent  can  never  be  recalled.  A  worn-out,  tired 
man  cannot  study,  his  mind  cannot  retain  a  lesson.  He 
may  attend  a  lecture  replete  with  well  chosen  and  eloquently 
expressed  thoughts  and  ideas,  embodying  exactly  what  con- 
cerns his  individual  welfare,  but  in  his  tired  condition  it  falls 
upon  listless  ears  and  unimpressive  mind. 

TV-.        ,   n  Knowledge  is  free  to  all  men.     We  go 

Moral  Reason.    .    ^,       •     ti  •      .  .          .  1         1 

furtlier  m  this  statement ;  since  knowl- 
edge is  free  to  all,  and  so  easy  of  access,  and  comparatively 
inexpensive,  we  deem  it  almost  criminal  for  any  one  in  the 
nineteenth  century  to  be  entirely  ignorant.  Not  all  labor- 
ing-men can  attain  to  great  heights  of  education  for  want 
of  proper  time  or  means.      Even  here  monopoly  comes  in 


competition;  eight  hours.  133 

and  education  is  monopolized  by  the  wealthy.  The  poor 
man,  it  is  true,  has  his  free  schools.  But  the  wealthy  are 
not  satisfied  with  these.  The  fact  is  in  these  schools  the 
young  children  are  simply  prepared  for  learning.  The  real 
fields  of  learning,  the  colleges  and  universities,  are  fenced 
in  for  the  wealthy.  Still,  much  can  be  learned  by  the 
laboring  classes  if  you  give  them  two  hours  per  day  more 
time  to  do  it  in. 

These  men  should  study  natural  philosophy,  a  broad  and 
fruitful  field,  from  which  they  may  cull  many  a  flower  and 
pluck  much  fruit  to  make  life  more  pleasant  and  themselves 
more  useful.  There  is  much  they  could  learn  if  their  task- 
masters gave  them  two  hours  less  in  the  labor  tramway. 

There  is  no  nearer  kin  to  a  man 
A  Personal  Reason.  ^^^^  /^^,^^^^/^     ^  ^^^  ^^^  ^.^1^,^. 

tarily  injure  himself  for  the  sake  of  gain.  A  man  has  no 
right  to  turn  himself  into  a  cart  horse,  whether  he  be  a 
capitalist  or  a  laborer.  If  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  make 
a  living  in  eight  hours,  why  should  he  work  ten  ?  He 
simply  attempts  to  move  ponderous  bodies  at  the  expense  of 
his  intellect.  It  is  the  duty  of  man  to  work,  not  only  to 
supply  himself  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  but  to  develop 
his  physical  powers  and  retain  his  health.  But  when  he 
does  this  to  the  neglect  of  his  intellectual  life,  that  higher 
and  nobler  part  of  man,  he  does  it  to  the  detriment  of  his 
highest  welfare.  Man  has  no  right  to  work  until  his  physi- 
cal or  mental  machinery  breaks  down.  It  is  just  as  sacred 
a  moral  obligation  on  man  to  rest  in  season  as  to  work. 
The  merchant  sees  this,  for 

The  merchant  of  the  present  day 
Stores  Close  Early.  ^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^^  .^  -^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^_ 

sible,  but  really  desirable,  to  close  his  store  at  5  or  6  o'clock 
instead  of  keeping  it  open  until  9  or  10  at  night,  thus  giv- 
ing his  employees  from  three  to  four  hours  more  time  for 
study  or  recreation. 

At  first  this  movement  was  met  with  the  bitterest  opposi- 
tion ;  some  met  it  with  ridicule,  as  a  great  absurdity  ;  some 


134  competition;  eight  hours. 

with  uplifted  hands,  as  a  dire  calamity.  The  merchant 
prophesied  great  reduction  of  sales  and  inevitable  loss  in 
business.  The  buyers  said  it  would  be  impossible  to  make 
their  purchases  during  the  day — "they  had  no  time ;"  "  it 
was  too  hot,"  and  a  dozen  equally  ridiculous  objections  were 
made  against  this  early  closing  movement. 

With  a  painfully  cau- 
The  Public  will  Soon  Learn.  ^.^^^  movement,  the  more 

progressive  and  intelligent  business  men  went  into  the 
experiment  with  a  feeling  something  like  a  person  experi- 
ences when  he  first  dips  his  feet  in  a  cold  stream  preparatory 
to  taking  a  bath,  but  they  soon  grew  bolder  and  more  confi- 
dent ;  they  saw  their  clerks  more  pleasant  and  cheerfully 
active  in  waiting  on  customers  and  ready  to  do  more  work 
in  view  of  the  shorter  hours  ;  their  gas  and  coal  bills  were 
much  lower ;  they  relished  the  additional  hours  of  rest  them- 
selves, and  their  sales  were  just  as  large.  The  public  found 
they  could  make  better  selections  by  daylight ;  they  could 
find  plenty  of  time  to  make  all  needful  purchases  during  the 
hours  the  stores  were  open,  and  instead  of  spending  their 
evenings  shopping, 

the  mechanic 
The  Wage-worker  will  Have  a  Chance  ;  ^^^^^  laboring 

man  will  be  able  to  spend  his  evenings  at  home  with  his 

wife  and  children,  or  take  them  to  hear  a  good  lecture,  or 

accompany  them  to  some  place  of  innocent  amusement,  or, 

if  he  cannot  or  does  not  care  to  indulge  in  these  things,  he 

can  devote  his  leisure  hours  to  something  better  still : 

He    can    spend    these    leisure 
To  Acquire  Knowledge.  ^^^^^^   .^^  ^^^f„,    ^^^,^y      j^„ 

matter  how  intelligent  he  may  be,  he  can  always  learn  more 
about  his  own  work  or  profession  ;  about  the  history  and 
laws  of  his  own  and  other  countries ;  about  his  own  body 
and  its  needs,  its  wonderful  mechanism,  and  how  to  keep  it 
in  order. 

The  wage-worker  has  a  perfect  right  to  tlie  inexhaustible 
resources  of  literature. 


competition;  eight  hours.  135 

_,       ___  ,         __      ^  The  laborer  is  not  only  en- 

The  Wage-worker  Must    ^.^1   .  ^  £4.      -.-u   1  i, 

*=L,  ,  x-»     ^  titled  to  a  profit  m  the  labor 

Have  a  Mental  Profit.  1     ^      r  t,-  1         j 

products   01   his    work    and 

skill,  but  he  may  also  justly  claim  a  share  in  the  mental 

profits  of  the  day.      By  right  of  the  laws  of  nature  every 

man  has  a  claim  to  a  share  of  the  knowledge  so  lavishly 

scattered  all  around  us.     The  wealthy  can  get  the  lion's 

share  of  it  in  the  form  of  costly  libraries  and  leisure  time 

to  read  the  volumes  therein  ;  but  how  shall  the  laboring  man 

get  his  share  if  he  has  no  books  to  read  or  no  time  to  study  ? 

,,^,        ^^.         ^      ,,      .    ,  ^   ,.  "Rome  was  not 

It  Takes  Time  for  Mental  Culture.  ^^.^^  ;^  ^  j^^,,  j^ 

a  somewhat  hackneyed  quotation,  but  it  is  convenient  for 
application  to  almost  any  subject  involving  the  crowding  of 
much  into  little  time.  A  man  cannot  store  his  mind  with 
much  useful  knowledge  in  a  few  hours.  One  little  stream 
does  not  make  a  river,  but  our  great  rivers  are  made  of 
many  little  streams.  If  one  hour  cannot  give  you  much 
mental  culture  many  hours  can,  if  you  use  them  properly. 
Give  us  the  eight-hour  system  and  you  give  the  wage-worker 
(deducting  Sundays  and  holidays)  six  hundred  hours  a  year 
for  study,  of  which  the  ten-hour  system  deprives  him  now. 
If  he  uses  that  time  now  he  robs  his  employer  or  his  family 
of  just  that  much.  We  mean  eight  hours  for  a  day's  work. 
^,       ^  ,,  -r-  X.         It    is    a    problem.     This 

The  Law  Must  Favor  It.  ^^^^^^j  x^^^ i^^^   law!     It 

stares  us  in  the  face  no  matter  where  we  turn.  Right  or 
wrong  (and  how  often  it  is  wrong !)  it  must  be  obeyed.  The 
law  certainly  should  favor  the  eight-hour  system,  and  we 
think  if  the  wage-workers  learn  right,  vote  right  and  act 
right,  it  soon  will. 


EDUCATION,  INTELLECTUAL  MONOPOLY, 
TRUSTS,  MENTAL  PAUPERISM,  Etc. 

^,        »,•--.         ,       ^      i    T^  -v        "  Man,  amidst  the 

Why  Should  a  Man  be  Cast  Down  ?  fl,,etuations  of  his 

own  feelings  and  of  passing  events,  ought  to  resemble  the  ship,  which 


136  competition;  eight  hours. 

currents  may  carry  and  winds  may  impel  from  her  course,  but  which, 
amidst  every  deviation,  still  i)resses  onward  to  her  port  with  unremitted 
perseverance.  In  the  coolness  of  reflection  he  ought  to  survey  his 
affairs  with  a  dispassionate  and  comprehensive  eye,  and,  having  fixed 
on  a  plan,  take  the  necessary  steps  to  accomplish  it,  regardless  of  the 
temporary  mutations  of  his  mind,  the  monotony  of  the  same  track,  the 
apathy  of  exhausted  attention,  or  the  blandishments  of  new  projects." 

T-t-      /-        i.      i.   T-.  'I'his    blessed  land  of  ours    is 

The  Greatest  Danger.  , ,  , 

°  menaced  by  many  dangers,  inter- 
nal if  not  external.  Sqme  think  emigration  is  dangerous; 
others  are  afraid  such  or  such  a  tariff  law  or  theory  is  threat- 
ening disaster ;  while  the  more  bigoted,  or  superstitious, 
prophesy  our  downfall  because  of  the  fearful  immorality  of 
our  people.  The  danger  we  refer  to  as  the  greatest  is  the 
cause  of  all  these  other  evils  named.  We  mean  igjiorancc. 
It  is  this  evil  which  makes  so  many  blunders  in  the  formu- 
lation and  passage  of  our  laws ;  it  is  this  that  makes 
emigration  dangerous,  and  it  is  this  that  breeds  and  sustains 
immorality. 

More  Than  One  Kind  of  Ignorance.  ,        \  .  , 

°  not   that   which 

makes  men  cruel  and  uncivil  as  often  found  among  the 
reeking  haunts  of  vice,  the  social  lepers,  banished  from  all 
intelligent  society.  Nor  does  it  apply  only  to  the  innocent 
ones,  reared  in  the  wild  woods,  deprived  of  all  the  benefits 
of  more  advanced  civilization. 

But  there  is  an  ignorance  more  dangerous  than  that  im- 
plied by  want  of  education.  A  man  nia\^  be  educated  in 
certain  branches  and  yet  be  ignorant  of  those  things  of  the 
most  vital  importance  to  himself  and  his  countr}-.  The 
common  interpretation  of  learning  or  education  is  a  some- 
thing intended  for  the  ignorant  only.  This  is  a  mistake. 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  educating  the  educated.     The  men 

Harmful  Education.  "'"'  ~']  "''°  ^''  truly  positively 
Ignorant,  being  even  unable  to  read 
and  write,  are  not  the  most  dangerous  element  of  society. 
There  are  those  in  society  who  have  learned  just  enough  to 
become  expert  pick-pockets,  swindlers  and  tricksters.      It  is 


GEN.  JAMES  B.  WEAVER. 


Plate  XII-For  sketch  see  page  222. 


competition;  eight  hours.  137 

among  those  who  are  in  some  sense  bright  and  intelligent 
that  yon  find  the  most  dangerons  and  snccessful  criminals. 
It  takes  an  intelligent  burglar  to  pick  a  complicated  safe 
lock. 

"A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  our  juvenile 
school  book  taught  us,  and  these  smart  scamps  have  only 
learned  those  things  pertaining  to  their  vicious  calling. 
Not  only  is  this  simply  learning  the  things  especially  suited 
to  an  unlawful  calling,  but  it  is  dangerous. 

Men  may  be  learned 
Learned  Men  Make  Mistakes,  i^  some  branches  quite 

well  and  yet  in  other  departments  closely  allied  to  those 
branches  in  their  application  be  very  deficient  For  ex- 
ample :  Our  best  educated  men,  in  drafting  or  framing  our 
constitution,  made  a  mistake  by  the  simple  scratch  of  the 
pen  which  caused  a  bloody  war.  They  may  have  lacked  a 
statesman's  foresight,  or  they  may  have  been  ignorant  of 
that  particular  branch  of  education  only,  but  it  illustrates 
the  great  importance  of  being  well  versed  in  those  matters 
especially  in  which  a  whole  nation  is  concerned. 

The  deplorable  results  of  a  "lit- 
Political  Campaigns,  ^le  learning"  is  too  often  seen  in 
political  campaigns,  especially  among  political  leaders  and 
.speakers.  The  effect  of  their  teachings  upon  the  ignorant 
portion  of  their  hearers  and  followers  is  often  disastrous. 
Men  who  are  perhaps  learned  in  various  branches  of  science 
■or  literature,  but  woefully  ignorant  of  the  true  principles  of 
political  economy,  or  the  issues  before  the  people  ;  or  know- 
ing better,  but  presuming  on  the  ignorance  of  the  people, 
willfully  misrepresent  the  true  features  in  the  case,  and 
thereby  mislead  them,  simply  to  enable  their  own  party  to 
come  into  power. 

There  are  deuiagogues  in  every  political 
Demagogism.  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^-^  ^^.^^^  ^in,  is  to  rule ;   by 

fair  means  if  they  can,  but  win  they  must.  Of  course, 
they  have  their  followers  and  adherents.  Some  follow  them 
and  obey  their  behests    for  the    loaves    and   fishes.      The 


138  competition;  eight  hours. 

more  ignorant  are  driven  to  the  polls  by  more  arbitrary 
measures — threats  of  political  excommunication,  loss  of 
work,  &c. — while  a  large  number  of  the  illiterate,  and  some 
with  a  fair  learning,  deposit  their  votes  in  good  faith, 
against  their  own  personal  interest,  because  they  believe 
their  leaders,  lacking  intelligence  sufficient  to  decide  clearly 
for  themselves. 

These  men  should  be  met  by  the  wage-workers  with  at 
least  equal,  if  not  superior,  intelligence  or  education. 

Whose  Fault  is  it  if  you  are  Deceived  ?  ,      ^^'^  ^  ,[^' 

honest  on  the 

part  of  these  demagogues  to  thus  mislead  the  masses ;  but 
that  will  not  exonerate  the  duped  themselves  from  blame. 
When  a  man  is  brought  before  a  court  of  justice,  charged 
with  the  violation  of  a  law,  his  plea  that  he  did  not  know 
of  the  existence  of  such  a  law,  or  did  not  understand  its 
purport,  will  give  him  no  release.  The  court  will  tell  him 
that  every  citizen  is  expected  and  supposed  to  know  the 
law.  Hence  ignorance  of  the  law  is  almost,  if  not  quite,  as 
culpable  as  the  violation  of  the  law.  The  same  thing  niaA^ 
be  said  concerning  the  violation  of  the  natural,  physical 
and  social  laws.  You  are  expected  to  know  them.  When 
you  bear  in  mind  that  the  men  who  frame  our  laws  and  con- 
trol our  finances  are  not  ignorant  men,  3^ou  should  at  once 
realize  the  absurdity  of  ignorant  men  questioning  their 
methods  and  actions.  You  must  meet  the  enemy  on  van- 
tage-ground and  with  his  own  weapons.  In  other  words^ 
you  must  be  intelligent  j^ourself 

T- ■!         .      ^T  ir        As  soon  as  the  laboriuLT  man  learns 

Educate  Yourself.      ,    ,  ,.    ,       •  1  .      1    .  • 

what   constitutes  right,  what  is   good 

for  himself  and  his  class  ;  in  short,  as  soon  as  he  knows  as 

much  about  Iabo}\   ianj]\  fuiancc  and  other  vital  questions 

of  the  day  as  the  would  be  political  demagogues,  then  there 

will   be  some  chance  of  him  getting  his  rights.      "When 

Greek  meets  Greek,  then  comes  the  tug  of  war  !"      There 

has  thus  far  been  really  no  war  between  the  two  factions. 

It  was  simply  a  charge  on  the  part  of  intelligent  leaders 


competition;  eight  hours.  139 

and  an  ignominious  retreat  on  the  part  of  the  ignorant. 
Again,  let  us  say  to  the  wage-workers  of  America  :  educate 
yourselves  ! 

The  masses  of  the  working  classes 
Public  Sentiment.  ^^^  governed  by  public  sentiment. 
This  is  not  always  safe,  for  public  sentiment  is  often  di- 
vided equally  and  yet  diametrically  opposed.  There  were 
two  public  sentiments  at  the  outbreak  of  our  Rebellion,  yet 
only  one  proved  to  be  the  right.  Careful  study  of  the 
mooted  question,  intelligent  statesmanship  and  stern  hon- 
esty of  principle,  in  defiance  of  all  public  sentiment,  made 
the  war  a  blessing,  instead  of  a  curse,  to  our  country.  Public 
sentiment  is  often  created  by  public  desire,  political  charla- 
tanism, or  "mushroom  growth  ;"  the  result  of  special  ex- 
citement, the  impulsive  throbbings  of  an  unhealthy  heart. 
Public  sentiment  made  the  ancient  philosopher  recant  his 
doctrine  of  the  earth  moving  on  its  axes.  But  it  moved  in 
spite  of  public  sentiment.  Intelligence  was  in  the  right. 
Of  course  public  sentiment  condemns  or  approves.  But  its 
judgments  and  decrees  are  not  always  right. 

There  is  an  instinctive  sense  in  every  human  being 
which  seeks  to  discern  the  right  or  the  wrong  in  all  things, 
but  only  when  properly  educated  and  directed  will  it  be  a 
safe  guide  to  the  truth. 

Most  of  our  American  working- 
College  Education.  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^  common  school  edu- 
cation ;  thanks  to  that  grand  provision  of  free  schools  in  our 
country.  Few  of  them,  however,  have  had  the  advantages 
of  a  college  education.  A  college  course  is  very  desirable, 
but  it  is  not  really  essential  to  good  citizenship,  office  qual- 
ification or  business  success.  Don't  misunderstand  us. 
We  by  no  means  contend  that  the  different  branches  of 
learning  taught  in  a  college  course  are  not  essential  to 
qualify  a  man  for  the  higher  duties  of  life,  but  we  do  say 
it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  go  through  college  to 
acquire  such  learning,  since  you  can  obtain  it  outside  of 
colle<re  walls.      And  after  all  it  is  the  man  who  is  studious 


140  COMPETITION  ;    EIGHT    HOURS. 

while  in  college  as  well  as  out  who  becomes  proficient;  the 
same  text-books  imparting  knowledge  in  the  college  furnish 
the  same  information  at  your  home. 

A  college  education  is  a  good  thing  to  have.  It  is  like 
getting  married.  If  3^ou  marry  for  love — as  3'ou  ought — 
and  you  get  riches  with  love,  it  is  doubly  gratifj-ing.  But 
if  3'-ou  wait  for  riches,  you  may  never  get  married.  If 
you  want  to  marry  you  had  better  marry  for  lo\'e  and  try 
for  riches  afterward.  If  you  depend  exclusivel}'  on  a  college 
course,  many  of  you  will  never  amount  to  much  or  accom- 
plish any  good.  If  you  have  true  ambition  you  can  educate 
yourself  Almost  ever}^  opportunity  is  at  3'our  hand  ;  avail 
yourself  of  it. 

TT  i.      TT J         »,      ^T  \c        Taking  for  granted  that 

How  to  Educate  Yourself.  ^.        •  w  1, 

the    eight-hour    system    is 

adopted — and  here  let  us  make  a  short  digression  to  say 
that  this  very  education  we  so  urgentU'  impress  on  3'ou  is 
intended  to  enable  you  to  accomplish  all  these  desirable 
objects  as  soon  as  you  are  able  to  present  them  intelligently 
to  the  world.  Supposing  then  the  600  additional  hours  this 
system  would  give  you,  each  year,  were  devoted  to  stud}-, 
what  an  immense  amount  of  useful  knowledge  3^ou  might 
acquire  in  a  few  years — and  even  with  the  leisure  time  3'ou 
have  now  much  might  be  accomplished. 

You  need  not  aim  to  become  a  great  savant,  a  famous 
scientist  or  a  grand  philosopher,  but  3^ou  can  become  an  in- 
telligent man.  If  3^ou  have  a  special  hobb3%  or  a  particular 
talent  or  love  for  any  particular  branch,  make  that  your 
more  especial  study.  But  above  all  things  select  011I3'  the 
best  and  most  useful  subjects  for  reading  and  study.  We 
would  recommend  some  of  the  subjects  we  consider  the 
most  beneficial  in  what  ma3'  be  called  ''  iiniversit3^  extension." 

Natural  Philosophy.  ,  ^"  °"''  '■"^'^'"^"^  of  subjects  for 
study  we  commence  with  the  prac- 
tical, because,  for  the  laborer  or  mechanic,  we  consider  them 
the  most  profitable.  We  give  natural  philosophv  as  a  gen- 
eral heading,    under    which    are    grouped    many    separate 


competition;  eight  hours.  141 

divisions.     This  science  covers  all  the  laws  of  phenomena 
and   matter,  including  man.      One  of  the  most  important 
and  interesting  departments  in  this  is  physiology. 
p,       .    .  It    is    truthfully    said  that   "the  greatest 

^  ^^'  study  of  man  is  man,"  and  there  is  no  study 

in  all  the  range  of  intellectual  possibility  that  is  as  impor- 
tant and  as  obligator}^  on  man  to  understand  as  himself. 
Physiology  shows  us  how  man  is  constructed,  gives  a  com- 
prehensive idea  of  all  his  functional  organs,  how  he  breathes, 
smells,  tastes,  hears,  sees  and  feels.  It  shows  him  how  he 
digests  his  food,  what  is  the  best  food  to  eat,  what  gives  him 
nourishment,  and  what  gives  him  pain,  and  enables  him  to 
outline  a  safe  road  on  which  to  travel  in  order  to  live  happily 
and  live  long.  Whether  he  works  eight  hours  or  ten,  it 
will  tell  him  when  to  continue  and  when  to  stop.  It  gives 
you  the  operation  of  the  brain  and  function  of  your  nerves. 
After  studying  and  iinderstanding  the  immediate  wants 
of  yourself  physically,  your  next  great  desire  should  be  the 
good  of  mankind,  socially  and  generally. 

__    ,.   .      .    _  This  subject  in  times    past    was 

Political  Economy.  j       1       1  i- 

^    considered  only  an  adjunct  to  or  a 

disintegrated  part  of  other  branches  of  general  govern- 
mental philosophy,  but  now  it  has  become  a  distinct  science. 
It  teaches  us  the  principles  of  good  government,  the  proper 
levying  of  revenue,  the  careful  management  of  our  na- 
tional resources,  our  productive  property,  our  labor  inter- 
ests and  in  short  the  careful  and  honest  management  of  all 
our  national  affairs /^'r  the  good  of  all  our  people.  This  is  a 
subject  that  should  interest  and  be  fully  understood  by  all 
wage-workers,  for  on  the  proper  administration  of  these 
affairs  depends  all  they  hope  to  achieve  in  the  future. 

.  But    there  are    other  studie  sof  practical 

value  to  the  workingman.  The  mechanic, 
positively,  and  the  laborer,  incidentally,  will  find  in  the 
study  of  mechanism  much,  not  only  to  aid  him  in  his  present 
department  of  business,  but  enable  him  to  improve  and  en- 
large his  opportunities  and  business.    To  learn  the  principles. 


142  competition;  eight  hours. 

of  proper  construction  and  adjustment  of  parts,  to  apply  and 
increase  power  or  motion  to  machinery,  to  overcome  friction, 
to  make  lifeless  iron  subservient  to  his  will,  and  so  infuse  it 
with  his  own  intelligence  that  it  becomes  an  active,  living, 
almost  human  power ;  to  accomplish  this  is  worth  hard  stud}-. 

Every  workingmau  should  study  the  different  branches  of 
mathematics.  They  teach  you  how  to  measure  distances, 
lines,  surfaces,  solids,  &c.  The  carpenter,  the  mason,  the 
architect,  the  bridge  builder  and  every  mechanic  should  learn 
this.  Even  the  wages  of  a  common  laborer  would  be  val- 
ued at  a  higher  figure. 

p.         .  Chemistry  is  perhaps  the  most  instructive 

^'  and  certainly  the  most  important  of  all  scien- 
tific studies.  By  this  you  can  discover  the  nature  and  prop- 
erties of  bodies,  of  material  substances,  in  solid  or  liquid 
form,  by  analysis.  This  is  useful  in  au}-  department  of 
business.  By  chemistry  you  can  create  forces  unknown 
and  produce  results  nature  has  hidden  for  ages.  It  has  a 
thousand  charms  for  the  student,  the  inventor  and  the  prac- 
tical business  man. 

The  study  of  the  general  formation  and  structure  of  the 
earth,  its  chemical  af&nities,  by  which  the  minerals  are 
formed  and  crystalized ;  the  story  of  the  silent,  mysterious 
work  of  ages — all  these  present  an  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive study  in  geology  and  mineralogy. 

The  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  will  find  a  grand 
field  for  study  in  botany  :  the  various  structures,  color  and 
classification  of  plants  and  flowers  ;  the  homes  in  which 
they  grow,  the  endless  variety  ;  the  propagation  of  new  or- 
ders and  the  many  uses  to  which  they  may  be  applied.  Not 
only  the  farmer  who  makes  it  his  special  business  to  till  and 
cultivate  his  farm,  and  specially  interest  himself  in  the  qual- 
ity, quantity  and  price  of  his  products,  will  find  much  to  in- 
terest and  benefit  liim  in  the  study  of  agriculture  ;  but  it  is 
of  some  interest  to  the  laboringman  to  know  which  is  the 
best  way  to  prepare  the  soil  in  his  little  lot,  or  garden 
patch,  what  to  plant  in  it  to  yield  the  greater  profit. 


competition;  eight  hours.  143 

All  these  branches  of  stud}^  to  which  we  have  briefly 
referred  are  more  or  less  of  a  practical  nature,  but  inter- 
esting and  instructive. 

/-Hi.        IT-)  u  cc^j.    J  To  look  at  the  Mitter- 

Collateral  Branches  of  Study.   .       ,  ^    , 

"^     mg  heavens  on  a  clear 

night  and  '  see  the  myriads  of  twinkling  stars  without 
knozving  what  they  are^  deprives  a  man  of  a  great  amount  of 
pleasure.  Astronomy  furnishes  us  with  the  name,  place 
and  motion  of  the  most  conspicuous  stars.  It  tells  us  their 
size,  their  distance  from  us  and  the  invariable  course  they 
travel.  If  you  take  Jupiter,  for  example,  and  learn  that 
that- little  shining  light  is  a  body  85,700  miles  in  diameter 
(eleven  times  as  large  as  the  earth),  that  it  is  483,000,000 
miles  away  from  the  sun,  and  that  each  revolution  it  makes 
around  that  centre  of  light  occupies  twelve  years,  you  can 
form  but  a  ver}^  faint  idea  of  the  sublime  lessons  taught  by 
astronomy.  These  studies  inspire  the  mind  with  admira- 
tion and  a  full  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  and  the  good. 
It  brightens  up  the  intellect  and  by  a  little  economy  of  time 
the  workingman  can  hold  his  own  with  others  who  by 
having  money  can  avail  themselves  of  an  education. 

Here  we  strike  a  dangerous  current.  There 
is  perhaps  nothing  more  elevating,  more  effi- 
cacious in  educating  men  and  women  to  a  higher  standard, 
socially  and  morally,  than  good^  sound  literature ;  and,  con- 
trariwise, there  is  nothing  more  pernicious,  more  productive 
of  vice  and  miser3^  than  some  of  the  light,  frivolous,  sense- 
less, insipid,  so-called  literature,  based  upon  nothing  that  is 
truthful,  void  of  science  or  history,  without  instruction  or 
amusement,  neither  "  pointing  a  moral  or  adorning  a  tale." 
This  more  than  worthless  so-called  literature  is  a  social 
abomination.  Cultivate,  therefore,  a  taste  for  the  solid 
literature  of  the  age  ;  read  no  other.* 


*\Ve  would  here  call  attention  to  the  article  under  the  head  of 
''Random  Thoughts,'"  in  this  book,  entitled  "The  Workingman's 
lyibrary." 


144  competition;  kigiit  hours. 

We  have  many  very  good  newspapers,  family  papers,  week- 
lies and  magazines.  But  learn  how  to  discern  between  good, 
useful  literature  and  the  abominable,  trashy  stuff  that  is  liable 
to  poison  the  mind.  There  is  as  much  care  necessary  in  guard- 
ing the  mind  as  the  body.  Good,  solid  literature  that  gives 
to  the  reader  and  student  knowledge,  strengthens  the  mind 
the  same  as  good,  nutritious  food,  will  build  muscle  and  brain. 

_  It  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  many  work- 

Be  in  Earnest.  •  11,  a-  a      ^^ 

mg   people    have    regarding    education. 

Many  think  that  there  is  no  use  in  studying  different 
branches  of  education  outside  their  particular  line  of  busi- 
ness or  vocation ;  that  it  cannot  benefit  them  and  hence  is  a 
mere  waste  of  time;  that  it  will  not  enable  them  to  rise  in 
the  social  scale,  since  it  seems  that  possession  is  the  main 
qualification  for  social  recognition.  But  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  veiy  process  of  acquiring  knowledge  is 
a  source  of  happiness.  The  mind  is  employed.  This 
builds  character.  Knowledge  getting  strengthens  memory 
and  brightens  up  the  face.  Knowledge  is  the  wealth  of  the 
mind.  The  greatest  inventions  of  modern  time  were  orig- 
inated by  intelligent  workmen.  Wage-earners  have  risen 
in  the  wealth  of  this  earthy  and  wage-earners  have  risen  in 
the  wealth  of  the  mind,  of  soul  and  greatness  of  individu- 
ality, and  we  take  the  position  that  all  peoples  can  accumu- 
late knowledge,  little  by  little,  that  they  ma}'  keep  apace 
with  the  intellectual  march  in  line  of  evolution.  You  may 
not  be  able  to  do  much  now,  but  the  question  is  not  what 
3'^ou  can  do,  but  what  you  can  leant  to  do.  This  is  progress. 
Before  passing  on  to  our  next  division,  "Immigration  and 
Suffrage,"  we  would  add  one  word  more  that  will  help  every 
one  amazingly  in  getting  on  well  in  the  world.  Education, 
qualification  and  perseverance  ;  it  should  all  the  while  be 
kept  fresh  before  the  mind  that  mtegnty  is  perhaps  the 
most  essential  of  all  personal  attainments.  Cultivate  a 
habit  to  make  your  word  good  and  establish  a  reputation 
for  truthfulness  and  you  will  never  lack  for  a  position. 
Work  and  trade  will  come  to  3-011.      Be  honest  and  truthful 


HON.  WALTER  Q.  GRESHAM. 
Plate  XIII    For  sketch  see  page  222. 


competition;  eight  hours.  145 

in  dealing  with,  others  and  with  yourselves.  Simms  says : 
"Nothing  will  more  rapidly  loosen  a  man's  hold  upon  pros- 
perity than  such  behavior  on  his  part  as  leads  to  his  being 
accounted  unreliable  in  his  dealings."  Let,  therefore,  the 
foundation  of  your  life-structure  be  a  fearless  love  of  truth, 
honesty  and  justice,  with  an  implicable  hatred  of  deceit, 
chicanery  and  meanness. 

"  For  without  interest  (profit)  the  accumulation  of  capital  is  impos- 
sible ;  without  capital  there  can  be  no  co-operaiion  of  anterior  and 
present /d^t?;-/  without  this  cooperation  (of  capital  and  labor)  there 
can  be  no  society  ;  and  without  society  man  cannot  exist." 


IMMIGRATION    AND    SUFFRAGE. 
Nations,  like  individuals,  are  gauged  by  what  they  are, 
and  they  are  what  they  make  themselves.      "Z^^r?/,"  there- 
fore, ''^ the  right  of  all  things!''' 

Blest,  too,  is  he  who  can  divine 
Where  real  right  doth  lie, 
And  dares  to  take  the  side  that  seems 
Wrong  to  man's  blindfold  eye. — Faber. 

___,       _        .  _  The   "  immigration  problem " 

Why  Foreigners  Come  .1  r^^  ^    ^ 

r    ,.  .      °         ,  has  become  or  late  years  a  study 

to  this  Country.  ,-  ,         ^....^       ^     / 

■'  ot    much    political    interest;   111 

fact  it  has  grown  into  undue  proportions,  and  yet  only 
quite  recently  the  question  has  been  formulated  as  to 
whether  immigration  shall  be  suspended  or  otherwise  regu- 
lated by  law  or  not.  Foreign  immigrants  figure  largely  as  a 
factor  in  our  labor  troubles,  and  the  time  has  come  when 
our  government  can  no  longer  pass  by  unnoticed  the 
hitherto  indiscriminate  influx  from  other  nations  of  the 
earth  to  the  United  States. 

It  is  in  justice  due  to  our  wage-earners  of  America  to 
regulate  immigration  in  a  proper  manner  so  as  to  obviate 
conditions  which  nia}^  either  directly  or  indirectly  lead  to 
disturbance  among  our  people. 

It  seems  this  country  is  a  kind  of  an  oasis  for  the  foreign 
emigrant,  unrestrained  almost  entirel}^,  until  in  recent 
years  we  were  driven   to  prescribe   conditions,  and  will  be 


146  competition;  eight  hours. 

forced  to  more  strict  regulating  measures  for  obvious  rea- 
sons. A  great  majority  of  those  \vlio  come  to  this  country 
from  foreign  shores  do  so  for  three  special  reasons  :  first,  to 
better  their  financial  and  social  condition;  second,  to  enjoy 
the  blessings  of  liberty  and  freedom ;  and  third,  because 
they  have  no  opportunities  in  their  native  laud  to  rise  and 
do  anything  for  themselves. 

_,,       ^    ,,.         ,,    ,  The    motive  prompting  the    first 

The  Galling  Yoke.    ,  ^      f       J  1      1  i,i      r 

*^  class    is   natural    and  laudable,    tor 

each  individual  seeks  in  some  wa}^  to  better  his  financial 
condition,  since  that,  in  our  day,  is  looked  upon  as  the  open 
sesame  to  all  of  this  world's  greatness  and  happiness. 

The  reason  governing  the  second  class  is  still  more 
praiseworthy.  Whatever  their  untutored  idea  of  liberty 
ma}^  be,  one  thing  is  apparent — the  most  intelligent  class  is 
the  one  attracted  by  that  object.  They  feel  the  more  keenly 
the  galling  yoke  of  monarchial  rule  because  of  their  intelli- 
gence. To  come  away  from  its  lashes  and  burdens  and  find 
respite  in  a  free  country  is  safer  and  cheaper  than  to  foment 
a  revolution,  sacrifice  their  possessions,  if  not  their  lives, 
and  then,  perhaps,  fail  to  accomplish  their  desire  to  gain 
freedom.  The  inborn  desire  to  be  free  prompts  many  a 
noble  man,  with  his  family,  to  sacrifice  all  to  gain  it ;  like 
the  eagle,  preferring  the  rough,  rock}^  heights,  awaj'  from 
the  comforts  of  the  flowery  valle}',  in  order  to  breathe  in  the 
mountain  air  of  freedom. 

T^     i_-t--i.    J   ^1  The  third  class,  wauderiui^r  like  birds 

Prohibited  Class,     r  ,      •  -,  1    .         .1 

ot  pre}^,  to  pick  up  whatever  the}-  can 

find,  is  an  element  troublesome  and  dangerous  to  au}^  land. 

It  is  true  that  the  law  of  our  country,  as  it  now  is,  prohibits 

the  reception  of  paupers,  or  such   as   threaten  to  become 

public  charges  ;  idiots  or  insane  persons  ;  persons  suffering 

from  infectious  diseases;  those  convicted  of  crime  and  all 

forms  of  what  is  known  as  contract  labor.      A  searchinsf  ex- 

amination  of  emigrants,  before  embarking  for  this  country, 

must  be  passed  to  ascertain  if  they  do  not  belong  to  this 

excluded  class.     This  prohibitory  law,  inipcrlect  as  it  ma}-  be 


competition;  eight  hours.  147 

has  none  the  less  accor^plished  some  good,  and  we  sincerely 
hope  it  may  grow  in  compass  and  keep  on  doing  good  work.* 

But  while  legislation  has  closed  the  national  gates  against 
some  objectionable  classes,  there  are  still  further  precau- 
tions  to  be  taken  to  make  the  work  complete.  It  is  well 
known  that  since  the  Act  of  March,  1891,  the  character  of 
the  emigrants  arriving  in  this  country  is  greatly  superior 
to  that  of  many  previous  years.  As  we  have  stated,  what 
our  government  should  strive  to  do  is  to  raise  the  character 
of  our  immigrants  rather  than  to  reduce  their  number. 

There  is  a  certain  class  coming  to  our  country  who  are 
neither  criminal  nor  physically  disqualified,  but  who,  never- 
theless, are  very  objectionable  and  in  a  degree  dangerous. 

We  refer  to  that  class  who  are  abjectly  poor 
Ignorance.  ^^^  kmentably  ignorant  and  who,  in  their 
social  degradation,  care  very  little  whether  they  improve 
their  condition  or  not.  Those  belonging  to  this  class  do 
not,  as  a  rule,  make  good  citizens.  iVgainst  this  class  some 
legislation  should  be  directed  in  order  to  protect  not  only 
our  own  wage-workers,  but  all  our  national  interests  and 
reputation. 

Let  certain  qualifications  be  peremptorily  required  for 
citizenship  or  domestication  in  our  country.  Let  it  be 
requisite,  in  the  first  place,  that  each  foreigner  wishing  to 
make  his  home  in  this  country,  as  the  head  of  a  family, 
possess  at  least  two  or  three  hundred  dollars  to  commence 
his  new  life  with  so  as  not  at  once  to  become  a  subject  of 
public  regulation.  And  then  they  should  at  least  be  re- 
quired to  know  something  about  the  history,  the  govern- 
ment and  the  laws  of  the  country  they  wish  to  adopt  as 
their  own. 


*It  has  been  estimated  that  since  the  Act  of  March,  1891,  over  55,000 
applicants  for  emigrant  passage  to  this  country  were  rejected,  and  nearly 
4,000  of  what  is  known  as  the  prohibited  classes  were  returned.  The 
Commissioner  of  Immigration  reports  that  this  law  has  had  a  whole- 
some effect,  for  the  character  of  the  emigrant  coming  to  our  shores  is 
vastly  superior  to  those  of  many  years  previous. 


148  COMrHTlTlOX;    F.IGIIT    HOURS. 

^,  ^  We  should  rather  feel  disposed   to 

Let  Them  Come.     ,       ^    ^,       ,         ^       r  4.1,         • 

elevate  the  character  or  the  emigrants 

than  to  reduce  their  uumber. 

It  is  almost  an  established  tniisiit  that  our  foreign  people 
are  honest  and  industrious  as  a  rule,  and  soon  infused  with 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  above  all  filled  with  true  patri- 
otism and  willingness  to  defend  the  principles  of  their 
adopted  countr}-.  So,  while  there  is  much  to  be  deprecated, 
there  is  also  much  to  be  admired,  in  those  especially  who 
have  families. 

Mau}^  with  lofty  ambition,  oppressed  by  monarchial  inso- 
lence and  wrong,  finding  nothing  to  approve,  much  less  to 
emulate,  without  aii}-  incentive  to  greater  action,  or  encour- 
agement to  loftier  endeavors,  find  their  hearts  expand  with 
new  life  as  they  breathe  the  exhilerating  air  of  freedom, 
and  become  our  best  citizens.  Among  this  better  class  are 
the  young  men  and  women,  man}-  of  them  bringing  aged 
parents  with  them  or  waiting  until  hy  industry  and  economy 
they  obtain  sufficient  money  to  send  for  them.'''  Many  for- 
eign people  have  sacrificed  not  only  hard-earned  money,  but 
even  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life  to  enjo}'  the  libert}'  of 
this  country. 


*  United  States  Senator  Henry  C.  Hansbrough,  in  North  Americari 
Review.  This  excellent  writer  and  thinker  expresses  our  views  on  this 
subject.  The  true  statesman  point  of  view,  with  humanity'  largely 
interlined,  is  the  only  tenable  ground  that  we  can  assume  in  regulating 
immigration  to  this  country.  We  do  not  want  Europe's  criminals, 
her  insane,  paupers  or  the  indigetit  in  any  sense,  and  in  justice  to  our 
American  wage-earjiers  the  government  must  suspend  the  importation 
of  cheap  or  contract  labor  of  whatever  kind. 

We  quote  from  the  Senator  rather  at  length  his  own  words.  He  says : 
"  The  patient,  delving  European  has  been  the  fulcrum  and  American 
brains  and  enterprise  the  lever  of  our  great  progress.  If  we  hope  to 
continue  our  marvellous  development  we  must  not  turn  the  emigrant 
away.  He  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  human  machinery  that  causes  the 
commercial  and  financial  world  to  revolve  in  its  daily  orbit.  The 
place  that  he  is  content  to  occupy  in  trenches  cannot  be  filled  by  the 
native  American,  who  has  moved  up  to  a  higher  plane  and  to  more 
congenial   employment.      The   versatile,    wide-awake    Irishman,    the 


competition;  eight  hours.  149 

^,,,^         .  .        -r^^  ,,-v     Yet  with  all  this 

Shall  Immigration  Be  Suspended  ?  j^jj^j  ^^^.^^j^^^  ^jj 

this  love  of  coiintrj^,  all  this  industry  and  economy,  there 
lurks  that  one  grim  ogre  of  foreign  labor,  competition.  For, 
in  order  to  keep  their  aged  parents  or  to  get  money  to  bring 
them  here,  and  many  times  for  other  reasons,  they  will 
work  for  almost  anj^  price,  thereby,  perhaps,  innocently  do- 
ing injustice  to  our  own  wage- workers.  This  is  a  matter 
for  further  legislation  and  could  be  regulated  by  the  Labor 
Bureau^  referred  to  under  a  special  head  in  this  volume. 
But  there  is  great  need  of  legislation  on  this  subject  of  im- 
migration, and  a  vigilant  Congress  could  soon  discover 
where  it  could  be  better  regulated  and  readily  supply  the 
legislative  want.  All  we  can  do  as  a  people  is  to  direct 
their  attention  to  the  matter  and  by  virtue  of  our  American 
citizenship  demand  the  needful  laws  and  regulations  the 
welfare  of  the  country  requires. 

^,  ^  /.        .,,         We  American  people  are  not 

There  Is  Room  for  All.     ^     ,.       .r  t,      ^-  n       ^ 

at   all    selhsh.      \ou    will    not 

find  a  more  generous,  kind-hearted  and  hospitable  people  in 
the  world.      But  we  are  sensitive.      We  don't  like  foreigners 


sturdy,  stalwart  Scandinavian  ;  the  frugal,  persevering  Germans,  who 
are  among  the  best  of  our  emigrants,  furnish  the  basis  of  a  higher  order 
of  citizenship ;  they  are  the  substratum  of  society.  The  immigrant 
built  our  railroads  and  opened  our  mines,  and  now  his  children, 
advancing  with  the  general  progress,  are  teachers  in  the  public  schools 
and  practicing  the  skilled  professions  in  the  cities  and  villages,  while 
his  grandchildren  are  foremost  among  scientists  and  rank  high  as 
authors  and  statesmen. 

The  general  belief  that  immigrants  are  not  immediate  contributors 
to  the  wealth  of  the  country,  but  bring  with  them  only  the  rags  upon 
their  backs,  is  erroneous.  As  an  example  :  For  the  last  half  of  the 
fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1892,  the  152,360  immigrants  over  twenty 
years  of  age  who  arrived  in  the  port  of  New  York  brought  with  them 
$3,060,908  05,  or  $20.09  each.  The  adult  French  immigrants  brought 
an  average  of  $55.67  ;  the  Swiss  are  next  highest  in  the  list,  the  Welsh 
third  and  the  Germans  fourth.  Hungary,  Italy  and  Poland  are  lowest, 
showing  an  average  of  $11.75  each  adult. 


150  competition;  eight  hours. 

to  come  to  our  homes,  have  a  free  run  over  our  house  and 
grounds  and  then  sit  down  and  deliberately  rob  us  of  our 
most  precious  fruit. 

No  one  will  question  the  right  of  our  government  to  desig- 
nate what  class  of  people  shall  come  to  live  among  us  or 
even  to  prohibit  immigration  altogether.  But  this,  we  think, 
would  not  only  be  bad  policy,  but  it  would  be  inhuman, 
morally,  and  disgraceful,  politically.  It  would  demolish  all 
our  boasted  doctrine  of  friendship  and  neighborly  love  and 
dim  the  lustre  of  our  national  escutcheon,  so  proud  of  the 
"home  of  the  free."  And  really  there  is  as  yet  no  cause 
for  alarm. 

^,      ^        ,  ,      ,,   ,         The  country,  thus  far,  has  no  special 

No  Trouble  Yet.  ,  •;'•  ',  T       r 

cause  to  complain  as  to  the  number  01 

immigrants.  In  fact  the  tide  of  immigration  thus  far  has 
not  damaged  our  shores  as  much  as  some  timid  or  over  en- 
thusiastic politicians  would  have  us  believe. 

The  total  immigration  from  Europe  and  all  other  countries 
during  a  period  of  sevent3'-three  calendar  years,  from  1820 
to  1893,  aggregates  onl}^  a  little  over  fifteen  millions. 

__       ,  A      •       ,         Immigration  has  been  gradually  in- 

Numbers  Arrived.  •  ,  %  o^^  ^^ 

creasing,  year  by  year,  from  ib20  to 

1882.     Since  then  it  has  averaged  the  same  or,  rather,  de- 


But  the  strong,  honest,  healthy  immigrant  brings  more  than  the 
paltry  dollars  in  his  pocket.  He  brings  value  difficult  to  estimate. 
In  a  book  published  in  1870  by  Frederick  Knapp,  then  Commissioner 
of  Immigration  of  the  State  of  New  York  the  average  economic  value 
of  each  immigrant  is  given  at  $1,125.*  Norwegians  who  come  here 
have  very  little  money,  but  ihey  are  the  least  illiterate  of  any  of  our 
immigrants,  and  experience  shows  that  for  industry  and  frugality  they 
are  unexcelled. 

Our  best  immigrants  are  those  who  bring  their  families  with  them, 
and,  when  tlie}'^  have  earned  sufficient  monej',  send  for  tlieir  relatives. 
It  is  interesting  to  study  the  official  figures!  in  this  respect,  for  we 
discover  in  them  the  motive  of  the  immigrant,  and  when  we  find 
his  motive  we  may  judge  of  his  worth  to  the  community.  Of  the 
51,383  Irish  who  came  during  the  past  fiscal  year,  25,684  were  females. 
There  were   119,168   Germans,    of  whom  52,271  were  females.     Italy 


competition;  eight  hours.  151 

creased  to  some  extent.  In  1820  there  were  only  8,385 
imraigrants,  while  in  1882  there  were  788,992.  The  total 
number  of  immigrants  to  this  country  during  sixty  calendar 
years  was  11,597,181.  Of  this  total  Ireland  and  Germany 
furnished  the  greatest  number,  aggregating  almost  all  from 
the  other  nations.  Ireland  furnished  3,063,761 ;  Germany, 
3,002,027;  England,  894,444.  Taking  all  the  European 
countries  together  they  aggregated,  during  the  time  desig- 
nated, over  9,500,000,  while  the  remainder  of  the  grand  total 
came  from  Asia,  Africa,  British  America  and  other  Amer- 
can  provinces. 

This  immigration  from  other  countries  is,  after  all,  not  as 
disastrous  in  its  effects  as  some  political  prophets  represent 
it  to  be,  when  we  learn  that  we  have  available  territory 
enough  to  settle  down  readily  and  comfortabl}'  provide  for 
five  Jmndred  7nillion  people,  without  crowding  them  as  closely 
as  our  foreign  neighbors  do.  We  can  give  them,  per  capita, 
over  two  acres  of  tillable  land  more  than  England  or  Ger- 
mau}'  now  can  give  to  their  people  per  capita. 

Supposing  that  in  the  spirit  of  progres- 
Our  Resources.   ^.^^^  ^^^  ^^^^.^^^  America  is  now  noted  and 

feared  by  the  nations  of   the  world,  we  should  still  continue 


sent  61,631  in  all,  only  14,232  of  whom  were  females.  These  figures 
by  contrast  conclusively  show  the  necessity  for  extraordinary  care  on 
the  part  of  the  government  in  making  selections  of  those  who  are  to 
people  this  country.  The  immigrant  who  brings'his  wife  comes  to  stay. 
He  assimilates  rapidly  and  his  offspring  make  good  Americans. 

That  Congress  has  the  right  to  pass  laws  for  the  suspension  of  immi- 
gration, and  that  such  laws  would  not  be  in  contravention  of  treaty 
obligations,  will  scarcely  admit  of  dispute,  but  that  the  enactment  ot 
a  measure  of  this  character  would  be  in  the  interest  of  sound  public 
policy  may  be  very  seriously  questioned. 

*What  is  the  economic  value,  says  Mr.  Knapp,  of  each  immigrant 
to  the  country  of  his  adoption  ?  We  are  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
estimates  which,  during  the  existence  of  slavery,  were  made  of  the 
value  of  negroes.  A  good  field  hand  was  considered  to  be  worth 
$1,200  and  over  ;  a  good  cook  was  valued  higher;  and  a  seamstress 
or  housekeeper  was,  in  some  cases,  held  at  even  $1,500  or  $2,000.  In 
order  to  obtain  a  proper  idea  of  the  importance  of  immigration  to  the 


152  competition;  eight  hours. 

to  increase  in  the  same  proportion,  year  by  year,  as  steadily 
as  we  have  during  the  last  decade,  it  will  still  require  1,000 
3'ears  to  fill  up  this  great  country,  allowing  each  inhabitant 
three  acres  of  land  to  settle  and  live  on.  Have  our  readers 
even  a  faint  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  our  territorial  extent? 
This  United  States,  with  its  fertile  and  scarcely  fully  ex- 
plored territories,  represents  a  mammoth  farm,  covering 
three  million^  twenty-five  thousand^  six  hundred  (3,025,600) 
square  miles.  Cut  this  up  into  acres  and  see  the  result.  It 
will  give  us  ojie  billion^  nine  hundred  and  forty-two  inillion^ 
seven  Jiundred  and  thirty-five  thousand^  two  hundred  (1,942,- 
735,200)  acres  of  land.  Three  hundred  million  sections  of 
642  acres  each  !  But  what  additions  may  be  made  during 
the  centuries  to  come  !  "  Westward  still  the  car  of  empire 
rolls  !"  the  poet  exclaimed  long  ago.  But  the  spirit  of  a 
republic  like  ours  will  seek  and  find  kinship  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  globe.  There  is  no  danger  of  crowding  us 
yet ! 

In  the  face  of  the  foregoing  statistics  we  feel  disposed 
rather  to  favor  immigration  than  to  legislate  against  it.  Still, 
some  better  regulations  might  be  adopted  to  make  immigra- 
tion not  only  safe,  but  more  respectable,  as  well  as  profitable. 


United  States,  we  must  endeavor  to  capitalize,  so  to  speak,  the  addition 
to  the  natural  and  intellectual  resources  of  the  country  represented  by- 
each  immigrant. 

Dr.  Engel  computes  the  cost  of  raising  a  manual  laborer  in  Germany 
at  forty  thalers  a  year  for  the  first  five  years  of  his  life  ;  at  fifty  thalers 
for  the  next  five  years,  and  at  sixty  thalers  from  the  eleventh  to  the 
fifteenth  year,  thus  arriving  at  an  average  of  fifty  thalers  per  year,  or 
750  thalers  in  all.  From  my  knowledge  of  German  life  I  consider  this 
estimate  as  correct  as  it  can  be.  and  assuming  that  in  this  country  sub- 
sistence costs  about  twice  as  much  as  in  Germany,  I  do  not  tliink  I 
shall  be  far  from  the  truth  in  doul)ling  Engel's  estimates,  and  in 
assuming  the  expense  of  bringing  up  an  American  farmer  or  unskilled 
laborer  for  the  first  fifteen  3'ears  of  his  life  to  average  100  thalers  per 
year,  or  a  total  of  1,500  thalers,  equal  to  about  $1,500  currency.  Fol- 
lowing Dr.  Engel 's  estimate,  an  American  girl  will  be  found  to  cost 
only  about  half  that,  or  $750,  for  the  reason  that  she  becomes  useful 
to  the  household  from  an  earlier  age.  Allowance  must  be  made,  it  is 
true,  for  the  fact  that  about  one  fifth  of  the  immigrants  are  less  than 
fifteen  years  old  ;    but  this  is  fully  balanced  by  the  great  preponderance 


competition;  eight  hours. 


153 


Instead  of  receiving  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  paupers, 
criminals  and  vagrants,  with  a  small  number  of  really  in- 
telligent and  worthy  persons  "sandwiched"  among  them, 
all  packed  like  herring  in  vermin-infested  and  disease- 
breeding  holds  of  vessels,  bringing  them  here  half  starved 
and  demoralized — instead  of  this  the  government  should  fit 
out  suitable  vessels  for  this  special  business,  select  the  best 
emigrating  material  only,  refuse  all  objectionable  charac- 
ters, and  do  it  with  a  clearly  decided  plan  as  to  their  desti- 
nation, work  and  personal  safety  when  here.  Select  the 
people  most  useful  and  desirable  here. 

Surely  a  nation  having  the  power  and  the  right  to  close 
its  doors  to  every  one  has  the  undisputed  right  to  select 
whom  it  pleases  if  their  desire  is  to  come. 

Let  these  vessels  be  commanded  by  competent  U.  S.  offi- 
cers, to  examine  into  the  moral  and  social  character  of  these 
emigrants  ;  with  competent  physicians  to  judge  of  their 
physical  condition,  establish  sanitary  regulations  on  these 
vessels  and  attend  to  proper  fumigation  or  disinfection  of 
ship  and  luggage.  Make  these  vessels  clean,  neat,  attrac- 
tive as  a  parlor,  so  that  the  very  passage  may  impress  them 


of  men  and  women  and  by  thousands  who  represent  the  highest  order 
of  skilled  labor.  Hence,  I  feel  safe  in  assuming  the  capital  value  of 
each  male  and  female  emigrant  to  be  $1,500  and  $750  respectivel}^  for 
every  person  of  either  sex,  making  an  average  for  both  of  $1,125. 

fin  the  following  table  will  appear  the  number  and  per  cent,  of  im- 
migrants of  each  sex,  from  the  leading  countries  of  Europe,  arriving 
from  1 88 1  to  i88q  inclusive. 


Country  from  wliicli  arrived. 


Germany 

Ireland 

England 

Sweden  and  Norway  . . . . 

Italy 

Russia,  lacludliig  Poland 

A  ustria 

Hungary 

Scotland 


Males. 

Per  cent. 

males  of 

total. 

Females. 

Per  cent, 
females 
of  total. 

8.S6.290 

57.6 

616,630 

42.4 

334,229 

51.U 

321.253 

49.0 

.39.-),2T3 

61.3 

249,407 

38.7 

346,862 

bl.O 

221,500 

39.0 

243.923 

79.4 

63,386 

20.6 

174,481 

65.8 

90,607 

34.2 

142,221 

62.9 

83,817 

37.1 

94,243 

73.8 

33,438 

26.2 

92,2.52 

61.6 

57,617 

88.4 

1,452,970 
055,482 
644,680 
568,362 
.307,309 
205,088 


127,681 
149,369 


154  competition;  eight  hours. 

with  the  taste,  the  dignity,  the  cleanliness  and  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  country  they  mean  to  adopt ;  and  give  them  an 
idea  of  what  may  in  due  time  be  expected  of  them. 

How  much  better  for  the  immigrant,  after  landing,  if  he 
(the  immigrant)  could  "read  his  title  clear"  before  sailing. 
D-  u  Let  these  vessels  not  be  the  old  worm-eaten 
Start  Right.  ^^^^^^  picked  out  of  the  naval  bone-yards, 
but  safe,  seaworthy-going  steamers,  able  to  make  the  trip  in 
two  weeks.  Let  them  carry  but  little  freight  outside  of  the 
personal  effects  of  the  emigrants. 

We  would  suggest  three  routes  :  Land  those  who  desire 

to  settle  in  the  northwest  at  Quebec  or  Ontario,  tapping  the 

Northern   Pacific  R.   R.     Those  destined    for  the  Eastern 

and  Middle  States  land  at  Philadelphia,  Boston,  New  York, 

and  Baltimore  ;  for  the  Southeastern  States,  New  Orleans 

and  for  the  southwest.     Let  there  be  vessels  for  each    of 

these  routes,  making  monthly  trips,  and  carrying  a  special 

class. 

^       ,      _,,  This  is  of  course  only  the  first  step  in  the 

Settle  Them.  ^   r-       •    \-        ^tt  ^  i 

arrangement  of  immigration.     We  must  dis 

pose  of  these  immigrants  \yhen  they  arrive;  in  fact  some 

disposition  should  be  made  of  them  when  they  start. 

With  large  available  territory  like  ours  this  is  an  easy 

problem   to   solve.      Colonize  them    on  our   western   lands, 

_  ,  .  , .  help  to  cultivate  the  idle  acres,  build  up 
Colonization.        ^  i     v  ^i        t        j 

new  towns  and  cities,  as  otliers  have  done 

before  them.  Those  with  families  and  a  little  money  capi- 
tal prefer  to  settle  in  these  localities — of  colonies.  Im- 
migrants with  means  enough  to  be  independent  can 
choose  their  own  place  and  vocation,  but  for  the  masses 
we  advocate  colouizatioii.  It  will  not  require  iiiucli  money 
to  start  them.  Our  capitalists  can  soon  follow  them  and 
put  up  mills  ;  railroads  will  soon  be  needed.  A  smart  Ger- 
man can  make  a  good  living  on  40  acres  of  laud  ;  so  can  a 
Yankee!  Forty  acres  is  all  tint  should  be  allowed  a  man 
by  the  government  in  one  Iracf  or  railroad  grants.  It  is 
better  for  16  families  to  occup}-  and  improve  a  section  of  640 


competition;  eight  hours.  155 

acres  than  to  entrust  it  all  to  one  man.  This  will  at  once 
form  a  neighborhood,  enabling  them  to  unite  their  work, 
assist  and  encourage  one  another,  have  social  advantages 
and  friendly  intercourse.  Americans  will  soon  follow  their 
example  and  settle  among  them,  and  it  will  not  be  very 
long  before  these  colonies  are  Americanized.  It  will  be  ad- 
vantageous to  the  immigrant  and  to  the  government  to  aid 
such  a  project. 

But  let  the  governinent  put  its  foot  firmly  down  on  land 
syndicates  and  ''''  land  sharks''''  of  every  description! 

,„    ,  -,,  By  this  method  of  colonization,  and  by 

Make  a  Charge.  j  •   j     ^  \      ^    c 

°       proper  care  and  industry,  every  head  of 

a  family  can,  in  five  j^ears,  become  comparatively^  indepen- 
dent, have  a  home  of  his  own  and  be  no  longer  the  slave  of 
any  man,  as  a  large  majority  of  our  wage-earners  in  our 
large  cities  now  are.  But  we  do  not  mean  that  the  govern- 
ment should  give  this  laud  and  go  to  all  this  trouble  and 
expense  for  nothing.  The  charges  should,  however,  be  not 
in  excess  of  the  actual  cost  of  conducting  this  special  work 
and  made  pa3^able  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  oppress  or 
embarrass  these  colonists  in  their  early  struggles. 

This  work  should  be  entirely  en- 
°  *  trusted  to  and  managed  by  a  special 

Immigrant  Bureau^  under  the  control  of  the  Department  of 
State,  as  international  questions  may  arise  where  their  di- 
plomacy may  be  needed. 

This  will  protect  the  immigrant  against  the  wiles  and 
swindles  of  willful,  self  appointed  agents,  who  so  often  rob 
the  poor,  unsophisticated  stranger  when  he  lands  in  our 
midst. 

Our  government  and  its  perpetuity  are 
^  '      based  upon  the  character  and  intelligence 

of  its  subjects,  or  citizens.  Then,  for  the  welfare  of  our 
republic,  it  is  of  vital  importance  for  our  citizens  to  learn  and 
understand  the  fundamental  principles  thereof,  know  the 
meaning  of  and  what  constitutes  a  free  government.  For 
this  reason  we  should  require  an  educatio)ial  qualification. 


156  competition;  eight  hours. 

As  to  the  proper  qualification,  we  would  suggest  that  we 
have  as  much  as  we  now  can  do  to  supply  the  wants  of  our 
own  poor,  and  there  is  no  moral  or  legal  reason  why  we 
should  extend  our  generosity  so  far  as  to  take  care  of  other 
nations'  poor  also. 

We  cannot  afford  to  educate  other  nations  without  some 
compensation  3'ear  after  year.  We  have  enough  to  do  with 
our  own.  A  foreigner,  to  become  a  citizen  of  our  country, 
should  be  intellectually  qualified  and  should  have  a  clear 
moral  record  and  correct  habits.  He  should  be  able  to  show 
a  tax  receipt  (after  being  five  years  in  this  country  he  ought 
to  be  able  to  own  something  on  which  to  pa}'  taxes)  as  an 
evidence  of  his  industry-,  &c.  In  fact  he  should  have  all 
the  characteristics  of  good  citizenship  to  obtain  the  right  of 
suffrage.  This  is  only  just  and  equitable;  as  these  are  the 
prerequisites  of  our  own  American-born  people  to  the  full 
rights  of  citizenship.  We,  as  a  nation,  certainl}'  have  a 
right  to  prescribe  rules  and  what  conditions  whereby  aliens 
can  onl}^  be  fully  qualified  for  and  clothed  with  all  the  pre- 
rogatives of  native-born  citizens. 

We  labor  to  destroy  dislinctioii 
based  on  possessions.  Let  us  not  draw 
the  line  too  finely  in  this  direction  or  we  shall  have  intellec- 
tual paupers  next,  and  this  would  be  equally  unpalatable. 
But  we  must  have  a  certain  amount  of  education  to  be  safe 
and  prosperous.  For  this  reaso  1  we  are  opposed  to  annex- 
ation of  neighboring  islands  or  countries  whose  people  are 
ignorant  and  lack  the  elements  which  fit  them  for  affilia- 
tion with  our  own  intelligent  people. 

We  do  not  favor  a  change  in  the  present  law  which  re- 
quires a  foreigner  to  live  here  five  years  befi^-e  he  can  exer- 
cise the  right  of  suffrage.  But  we  would  re  [  lire  a  more 
rigid  examination  of  his  qualifications  by  1I  e  ourts,  as  we 
have  stated. 

A  very  large  majorit}'  of  the  people  of  this  country  will 
concur  with  us  in  our  views  on  the  immigration  and  suffrage 
questions,  for  no  better  reason  than,  as  Mrs.  A.  W.  Moore,  in 


competition;  eight  hours.  157 

a  lecture,  puts  it  all  in  a  few  words.  She  says  :  "A  great 
many  foreigners,  having  been  born  and  reared  where  they 
have  had  no  rights  as  individuals,  are  unable  to  understand 
this  grand  idea  as  the  Anglo-Saxon  understands  it." 

We  ask  nothing  unreasonable.  It  is  our  duty  and  pre- 
rogative to  guard  all  vulnerable  points  and  remove  all  per- 
ilous conditions  that  we  may  be  true  to  ourselves  and  to  our 
fathers,  who  looked  forward  for  the  welfare  of  generations 
whom  they  believed  would  not  only  look  back  to  them,  the 
founders,  with  pride,  but  honor  their  declining  years  by 
perpetuating  the  government  which  was  sealed  in  their  own 
blood  and  hard-earned  sacrifices.  Shall  it  be  so  ?  It  shall ; 
then  what  are  we  doing  ? 

___,  ,  .  ,,^  ^  .  ^  Are  we  educating;  and  train- 
What  Are  We  Doing  ?  •      ,,  ^r,.  • 

^      mg  the  young  men  01  this  gen- 
eration to  be  party-men  or  patriots? 

Pure,  strong,  noble  patriotism  must  be  instilled  in  the  boy 
if  we  wish  to  behold  its  grand  spirit  exercised  in  the  man. 

If  we  fail  in  this  we  present  to  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  not  a  patriotic  and  useful 
aiizefi^  but  an  individual  for  whom  American  citizenship  is 
given  too  cheap. 

It  is  too  cheap  for  the  immigrant  or  the  native-bom  whose 
soul  is  so  dead  to  the  glory  and  greatness  of  his  country 
and  its  institutions  that  he  has  never  said  with  glowing  eye 
and  joyous  heart : 

"  This  is  my  ozvn,  my  native  land  !" 

NOTE  1 . — There  is  a  prevailing  idea  that  the  right  of  suffrage  is  a  nat- 
ural right  and  that  to  rob  a  man  of  the  privilege  to  cast  a  ballot  that  his 
natural  born  rights  are  invaded.  This  is  incorrect,  for  if  it  were  so  then 
every  man,  woman  and  child,  black  or  white,  would  have  a  right  to 
vote.  But  the  fact  is  the  right  of  suffrage  is  a  delegated  right,  dele- 
gated by  the  state  to  the  citizen,  under  certain  conditions. 

Then  a  foreigner  comes  among  us  as  an  adopted  citizen,  and  as  long 
as  his  rights  as  a  free  man  and  his  interests  are  well  protected  he  ought 
to  be  satisfied,  for  it  is  only  the  simple  right  to  cast  a  ballot  which  is 
reserved  until  he  earns  it.  This  right  he  must  earn,  and  all  right- 
thinking  foreigners  will  soon  see  the  necessity  of  this  course,  and  if  it 
makes  a  better  man  of  him  to  vote,  let  him  study  and  acquire  the  nec- 
essary qualification  and  then  comply  with  the  law. 


158  competition;  eight  hours. 

NOTE  2. — When  we  were  21  years  of  age,  and  on  the  day  we  cast 
our  first  vote,  which  was  for  "John  C.  Fremont  and  Jessie,  too,"  we 
remarked  to  a  friend  that  we  hoped  to  live  long  enough  to  see  the  day 
when  we  would  be  permitted  to  step  up  to  the  polls  along  by  the  side 
of  woman  and  exercise  the  privilege  of  voting  together  as  citizens. 
The  little,  blue-eyed,  rosy  cheeked,  dimpled  chin  and  wavy,  golden  hair 
had  to  wait  outside  while  we  performed  the  proud  prerogative  that 
makes  a  5'oung  man  feel  very  patriotic.  She  had  also  just  come  of  age, 
and  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  in  our  mind  but  that  she  was  quite  as 
competent  to  vote  as  we  were.  From  that  day  to  this  we  have  done 
nothing  that  would  in  the  least  retard  the  incoming  era,  when  there 
will  be  710  sex  in  politics.  Women  have  correct  ideas  as  well  as  men. 
We  now  think  that  we  will  live  to  see  that  day  we  hoped  for  while  yet 
a  young  man,  although  the  ^^i?^/ is  almost  in  sight.  Six  to  ten  years 
more  and  women  will  enjoy  the  right  of  suffrage  in  every  state  in  the 
Union  as  a  fully  recognized  citizen  of  the  United  States.  We  take 
great  pleasure  to  quote  a  thought  from  a  lecture  on  ' '  Shall  Foreigners 
Have  a  Right  to  Vote,"  by  Miss  Louise  Earle.     She  said  : 

"  If,  now,  we  consider  the  often  repeated  assertion  that  America,  the 
land  of  freedom,  should  be  an  asylum  for  all  who  are  oppressed,  we 
shall  find  that  this  statement  is  in  no  sense  ^n  argument  for  the  natural- 
ization of  foreigners.  Both  the  persons  and  property  of  aliens  are 
well  protected  here  ;  and  they  themselves,  moreover,  share  in  the  ben- 
efits of  all  our  public  institutions.  There  is,  therefore,  not  the  slightest 
reason  for  granting  them  the  citizenship  before  they  are  capable  of  dis- 
charging its  duties." 

NOTE  3. — A  very  remarkable  change  has  taken  place  in  England, 
during  last  year,  in  public  opinion,  and  in  the  position  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
himself,  regarding  the  eight- hour  system.  At  first  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not 
take  kindly  to  the  compulsory  eight-hour  rule ;  but  after  making  the 
proper  research,  he  is  in  favor  of  a  sort  of  local  option  law  to  make  the 
eight-hour  sj^stem  compulsory  as  it  may  suit  localities.  Many  corpora- 
tions have  for  some  time  adopted  the  eight-hour  rule  ;  that  is,  eight  hours 
shall  constitute  a  day's  work,  forty-eight  hours  a  week's  work.  A  bill 
before  Parliament  brings  a  day's  work  to  an  eight-hour  basis.  The 
vote  was  very  clo.se,  and  it  is  believed  that  on  another  occasion  this 
will  become  a  law  in  England.  The  question  is  much  agitated  in  all 
civilized  countries.  Over  450,000  miners  in  Great  Britain  are  now  on 
the  eight-hour  basis.  If  this  rule  is  adopted  it  will  give  work  to  a 
large  number  who  are  now  idle.  "  We  must  not  grow  discouraged 
if  the  tide  seems  to  ebb  sometimes ;  it  will  return  with  renewed 
power. ' ' 

"  It  is  we  must  answer  and  hasten 

And  open  wide  the  door 
For  the  rich  man's  hurrying  terror, 

And  the  slow-foot  hope  of  the  poor. 

Yea,  the  voiceless  wrath  of  the  wretched 

And  their  unlearned  discontent. 
We  must  give  it  voice  and  wisdom  • 

Till  the  waiting-tide  be  spent." 


MORAL,  SOCIflL,  FOOD  AND  BODY. 


On  the  Moral  and  Social  Effects  of  What  We  Eat  and 
Drink ;  The  Comparative  Value  of  Efferent  Articles 
of  Diet;  Chemical  Analysis  of  tJie  Body ;  Fancy  Gro- 
ceries;  Hoiu  to  Eco7iomize  and  Still  Be  Strong ;  Home 
Fabric;  Something  About  Social  Life ;  The  Drink 
Habit ^  Etc.^  Etc. 


"  That  which  before  us  lies  in  daily  life, 

Is  the  prime  wisdom ;   what  is  more  is  fume, 

Or  emptiness,  or  fond  impertinence  ; 

And  renders  us,  in  things  that  most  concern, 

Unpracticed ,  unprepared,  and  still  to  seek." 

^i_  •  TTTt-  L.  A  Txr  -.  There  is  a  reason  wliy  we  exist, 
Oh!  What  Are  We?        .       x.     ^,     ^A      -,    ^n. 

or  else  wny  snould  we  ?     There  are 

certain  conditions  nnder  which  we  live  and  there  are  cer- 
tain conditions  under  which  we  die.  Our  body  is  composed 
of  the  substances  of  this  earth.  IMatter  or  substance  has 
been  found  to  be  made  up  of  different  elements.  Of  these 
elements,  it  has  been  found,  exist,  as  far  as  is  known,  about 
sixty-five  in  nature.  About  twentj'-two  of  these  elements 
have  been  found  in  the  human  subject.  These  substances  or 
elements  are  gradualh^  sublimated  and  refined,  brought  up 
from  a  low  and  inorganic  state  to  a  higher,  by  a  principle 
or  force  we  call  life.  Life  is  everywhere  at  work  in  con- 
verting earth,  air  and  water  into  organized  beings.  Then 
comes  the  law  of  support — one  thing  supporting  another. 
In  the  vegetable  kingdom  the  cereals  are  the  highest  ex- 
pression of  life.  The  dove  is  the  highest  representative  of 
the  bird  kingdom  ;  the  salmon  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea, 
and  men  of  the  mamalians.  Man  may  be  considered  as  an 
epitojne  of  existences. 

Life  may  also  be  spoken  of  as  a  property  of  matter.     The 
bodv  has  been  analyzed,  and  so  have  other  animals  and 


l6o  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    \ND    KODY. 

things — birds,  fishes,  vegetables,  the  cereals,  fruit,  etc.  It 
has  been  found  that  the  different  elements  and  substances 
of  the  earth  are  variously  represented  in  the  almost  infinite 
variet}^  of  existences,  where  life  is  man- 
Living  Matter.  .^^^^  where  matter  is  associated  with 
the  life  activity  of  organized  beings  it  is  called  living  matter. 

The  expression  of  life  differs  in  degree  of  intensity  and 
activity,  according  as  the  chemical  equivalents  of  these  ele- 
ments are  united  with  life  in  quantity  and  quality. 

Living  matter,  then,  differs  in  its  property  and  nature 
according  to  chemical  equivalents,  which  explains  the  cause 
of  the  almost  infinite  variety  of  forms  and  appearances  of 
existences,  and  hence,  also,  the  differential  expression  of  life. 

Accordingly,  then,  as  things  differ  in  their  appearance  so 
do  they  differ  in  their  component  parts,  affinity,  differential 
elements  and  substance  out  of  which  the  body  is  built  or 
grown. 

Living  beings  manifest  different  degrees  of  activity,  from 
the  slow-going  snail  to  the  swift,  arrow-like  pigeon  darting 
through  the  air.  The  difference  is  produced  b}'  the  different 
equivalents  of  the  phosphates,  and  this  is  dependent  on 
digestion  and  power  of  assimilation. 

.-P  It  is  plain  that  things  widel}^  differ,  one 

So  We  Differ.  ^^^^^^  another,  physically,  and  we  find  that 
this  differentiation  holds  good  in  the  realm  of  the  intellec- 
tual. Then  as  physical  conditions  are  changed  so  will  the 
mental  or  intellectual  phenomena  change  correspondingh'. 
Different  kinds  of  food  and  drink  affect  the  passions,  instinct, 
reason,  power  of  thought,  health  and  strength  of  the  body. 

It  is  now  well  understood  what  kind  of  food  will  supply 
material  from  which  bone-builders,  so  to  speak,  will  be  en- 
abled to  construct  a  good,  strong  osseous  structure ;  the 
same  holds  good  regarding  muscles,  brain  and  every  tissue 
of  the  body.  The  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind.  We  can 
then  readily  perceive  that  as  people  differ  in  their  diet  so 
will  they  differ  in  power  of  thought.  Nations  exhibit  dif- 
ferential characteristics,  traits  of  character,  etc.    Meat-eaters 


HON.  WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON. 
Plate  XIV-For  sketch  see  page  222. 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD   AND    BODY.  l6l 

are  courageous  for  a  tiuie  in  the  battles  of  life,  but  tbey  do 
not  have  the  reserve  force  of  life  to  draw  from  which  those 
have  who  live  on  a  vegetable  diet  and  flesh  of  animals  but 
sparingly. 

y-KTU^t.  \XT     -c    4.        J   T-v  •    1  That  what   we   eat  and 

w^hat   \A/e  Eat  and  Drink.  .  •  ,     .  n-   ^   . 

dnnk  does  etlect  character 

can  no  longer  be  questioned,  since  the  da/as  we  have  are 

overwhelmingly  on  the  side  of  the  affirmative. 

Food  is  that  which,  when  taken  into  any  living  animal 
organism,  makes  blood,  bone,  muscle,  integument,  hair, 
brain,  life,  etc.  It  stands  to  reason  that  character  and  dis- 
position must  be  largely  influenced  by  the  kind  of  a  body 
that  is  built  up  for  the  mind  to  occupy  and  through  which 
the  mind  must  operate.  A  change  of  diet  will  change  the 
constituance  of  the  blood,  and  a  change  of  the  blood  pro- 
duces a  change  of  thought. 

Dryden  ate  raw  meat  on  retiring  that  he  might  dream  of 

tragedies  ;  that  he  might,  from  his  dreams,  make  his  tragic 

scenes  more  vivid  in  his  description. 

.    „        .,  ,      *^  A  quiet,  sensible  man  becomes  as  a 

A  Sensible  Man.  -,  r       i  r  ^ 

demon  as  soon  as  a  lew  glasses  oi  strong 

drink  have  passed  from  the  stomach  to  the  blood. 

The  effect  food  and  drink  have  upon  character  is  no  longer 
questioned,  since  physiology  has  delved  into  the  deeper  mys- 
teries of  human  life.  All  of  our  scientists  who  have  given 
the  subject  much  thought  teach,  since  it  is  a  fact,  demon- 
strated before  our  eyes,  that  our  bodies  are  built  out  of  the 
food  we  eat  and  absolutely  verified  \>y  chemical  analysis. 

,    ,    ,      __     .^     ,    How,    then,    can    it    otherwise    be, 
Absolutely  Verified,  ^i      \     j  ^   •  r 

•^  than  to   draw  a    correct    mierence, 

since  it  is  a  verified  fact  that  a  person's  conduct  is  widely 

different  if  a  radical   change  is   made   in  food  and  drink. 

Some  years  ago,  while  practicing  medicine  in  Chicago,  we 

gave  this  subject  some  special  attention.     We  visited  the 

prisons  and  police  courts  frequently  and  in  the  course  of 

two  years — special   time   set   apart   for  this  work — during 

which  we  devoted  much  of  our  time  to  the  study  of  the  dif- 


l62  MORAL,  SOCIAL,   FOOD    AND    BODY. 

ie^r^nt  phases  of  crime  according  to  organic  condition  of  eacli 
individual.  We  extended  our  visits  and  observations  to  the 
prisons  at  Milwaukee,  St.  Paul,  ]\Iinneapolis,  St.  Louis, 
Cincinnati,  Columbus  (Ohio),  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Jackson 
(Mich.),  Michigan  City,  and  while  we  did  not  keep  an  ac- 
curate diary  of  the  number  of  examinations  we  made  from 
which  to  make  up  a  table,  and  give  nationalities,  sex,  age, 
trade  and  circumstances  which  lead  these  people  to  commit 
crime,  the  point  we  were  in  sea.ch  of  we  attained  to  our  full 
satisfaction. 

From  the  knowledge  we  had  of  physiology,  we  were 
strongly  inclined  to  the  belief  that  peoples  who  are  reared 
on,  and  after  maturity  continue  on,  a  vegetable  diet  were 
not  so  liable,  or  rather  disposed,  to  commit  crime,  especially 
those  crimes  of  a  murderous  nature. 

It  is  surprising  to  state  that  out  of  the  many  hundreds  of 
criminals  into  whose  habits  and  mode  of  life  we  made  par- 
ticular inquiry,  on  this  one  point  of  diet,  7iol  one  could  be 
found  who  was  strictl}^  a  vegetarian. 

In  many  instances  a  number  of  the  most  hardened, 
guilty  of  capital  crime,  were  inveterate  meat-eaters.  A 
large  majority  of  these  criminals  lived  on  a  low  diet  of 
animal  food,  only  sparingly  intermixed  with  vegetables  and 
this  of  the  most  difficult  of  digestion.  As  a  rule  they  were 
woefully  ignorant  of  the  simplest  rules  of  hygiene,  irreg- 
ular in  their  habits,  especiallj^  in  their  meals.  Particularl}^ 
was  this  the  case  regarding  those  who  lived  in  the  large 
cities.  The  bath  was  scarcely  known  to  them  and  nearl}^ 
all  were  addicted  to  the  drink  Jiabit  and  used  tobacco  in  one 
form  or  another. 

An  eminent  author  says,  "  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
food  eaten  will  be  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  eater."  There 
is  danger  of  going  to  extremes.  One  has  to  understand 
physiology  scientifically,  avoiding,  as  much  as  possible,  spec- 
ulations ;  form  for  yourself  correct  premises  and  then  look 
to  it  that  you  do  not  get  too  far  away  from  your  premises. 
Heredity  does  not  operate  in  the  per  sc  sense  ;  for  example. 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY.  163 

a  man  living  on  the  flesh  of  swine,  it  is  not  claimed  that  he 
will  become  a  hog,  but  this  is  argued  and  held  as  reliable 
doctrine  of  life  that  a  low,  imperfect  or  unhealthy  food  will 
build  a  body  corresponding  to  it,  and  this  will  weigh  on  the 
mind. 

"  He  is  a  chip  of  the  old  block "  is  an  old  saying  and 
answers  our  present  purpose.  Caligula  was  Rome's  most 
blood-thirsty  ruler  in  all  her  history.  His  parents  were 
well-disposed  and  loving  people,  but  while  a  nursing  babe, 
and  until  matured  years,  fresh  blood  from  animals  was  part 
of  his  diet,  and  Dion  tells  us  that  it  was  believed  as  far  back 
as  ancient  Rome  that  drinking  fresh  blood  had  a  tendency 
to  make  men  courageous.  Some  years  since,  we  can  well 
call  to  mind,  a  craze  got  among  the  people  that  drinking 
fresh,  warm,  beef's  blood  would  cure  consumption.  This 
was  practiced  b}^  a  large  number  at  Cincinnati,  O.  While 
we  were  there  attending  medical  college,  over  thirty-five 
years  ago,  two  3'oung  ladies,  where  we  boarded,  went  to  the 
butcher's  slaughtering  house  every  morning  and  drank  a 
glass  of  hot,  fresh  blood.  There  was  a  regular  bar  over 
which  this  blood  was  sold,  and  hundreds  tried  the  remedy. 
The  two  young  ladies,  we  remember  well,  picked  up,  gained 
in  flesh,  but  they  became  irritable  in  disposition.  The 
young  ladies  were  cousins  and  dear  friends,  never  quarreled 
until  the}^  began  the  fresh-blood  treatment  for  a  lung  diffi- 
culty they  believed  they  were  ailing  from.  They  quar- 
reled so  that  they  separated,  and  they  also  had  trouble 
with  their  landlady. 

„  .        ^      ,,       TTTL-   1  T-  Before    distilled  liquors 

Prior  to  the  Whiskey  Era.  ^ 

•^  came    in   vogue,   men,    on 

special  occasions,  when  they  wished  to  strengthen  their 
heartless  nature,  or  to  render  them  courageous  that  they 
might  become  blind  to  humane  treatment  of  prisoners, 
women  and  children,  or  an  enemy  against  whom  they  were 
preparing  to  move  and  meet  in  mortal  combat — one  thing, 
on  many  occasions,  that  they  provided  themselves  with  was 
to  drink  fresh  blood  of  animals.     The  blood  of  lambs  was 


164  MORAL,  SOCIAL,   FOOD    AND    BODY. 

not  considered  good — too  tame — but  if  the  blood  of  a  wild 
boar  could  be  obtained  then  those  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  obtain  a  drink  of  this  blood  they  would  be 
sure  to  win  in  battle.  However,  since  distilled  liquors  have 
come  into  use,  the  blood  drinking  has  been  discarded.  Li- 
quor is  more  sure  and  it  is  drank  many  times  by  people 
who  are  planning  to  perpetrate  some  hideous  crime.  A 
drink  or  two  of  whiskey  will  deaden  the  moral  sense  and 
they  succeed  to  commit  the  crime.  Whiskey  acts  on  the 
base  of  the  brain  and  on  the  spine,  thus  arousing  the  animal 
propensities,  and  men  become  brutal,  for  the  higher  faculties 
of  the  mind  lose  their  control  over  the  lower  and  the  animal 
brain. 

,   ,T.     T  •/•  Dr.  Jennings,  of  Ober- 

How  He  Prolonged  His  Life.  Hn,  Ohio,  was  a  hopeless 

invalid  at  forty.  One  day,  by  way  of  a  little  exercise,  he 
fed  the  pigs  their  usual  allowance  of  corn,  and,  as  he  was 
thus  engaged,  the  thought  came  to  him  (and  we  give  it  in 
his  own  w^ords)  and  he  said  to  himself:  "How  foolish  I  am; 
here  is  this  corn,  pure,  undefiled,  free  from  disease  germs, 
feeding  it  to  these  unclean  animals  and  then  take  it  back  to 
my  system  second-handed."  From  that  day  the  good  Doc- 
tor resolved  never  to  eat  animal  flesh  again,  and  from 
that  day  his  health  improved.  He  became  healthy  and  use- 
ful, reaching  the  grand  old  age  of  over  eighty,  and  died  of 
old  age  and  not  of  disease. 

The  Greek  philosophers  were  vegetarians.  Our  fore- 
fathers, the  early  settlers,  ate  sparingly  of  flesh  food  ;  corn 
bread,  mush  and  milk,  oats,  beans,  potatoes,  cabbage,  and, 
for  a  change,  good  all-wheat  bread ;  that  is  to  sa}^,  temper- 
ate eating,  no  adulterated  luxuries,  fancy  groceries,  no  com- 
plicated dishes;  was  as  much  a  help  as  the  well-directed 
shot  that  won  the  victory  that  made  America  free.  Poor, 
weak  France,  a  devouring,  meat-eating  nation.  An  old 
horse  worked  nearly  to  death  and  disabled  is  fattened  a  little 
and  sold  to  the  butcher.  Compare  and  think  of  the  Scotch, 
a  people  who  have  been  beaten  but  never  conquered ;  almost 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY.  165 

vegetarian  in  tlieir  diet.     Really  Scotland  to-day  may  be 
mentioned  as  the  representative  of  the  highest  attainment 

of  civilization. 

Germany,  under  tyrannical 
National  Characteristics.  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  royalty  ab- 
sorbed all  the  good  things  of  the  land;  when  the  object  was 
to  keep  their  subjects  down  to  bed  rock;  when  a  working- 
man  was  glad  to  get  enough  to  furnish  the  family  with  veg- 
etable soup  ;  bread  was  scarcely  obtainable  at  all.  Germany 
retrograded,  but  during  the  last  century  a  nobler  type  of 
people,  faithful  and  true,  have  been  developed  on  a  much 
improved  diet.  The  German  is  trustworthy ;  is  a  good 
friend.  There  is  comparatively  but  little  meat  eaten  in 
Germany— more  in  England.  Dr.  Johnson,  who  always 
had  a  prejudice  against  the  Scotch,  on  one  occasion  defined 
the  term  "oats."  He  said:  "In  Scotland  it  is  for  men,  in 
England  food  for  horses."  "Very  true,  Doctor,"  replied  a 
lady,  "but  where  will  you  find  such  men  and  where  will 
you  find  such  horses?" 

Only  the  lower  classes  in  India  eat  flesh.  Did  you  ever 
see  a  cattle  ship?  The  animal,  imprisoned,  feverish  and  in 
a  suffering  condition,  reaches  the  stall  in  the  London 
market.  Wheat  and  com  will  not  deteriorate  by  shipping 
it.  Cereals  furnish  man  with  nerve  and  brain  power. 
The  spirit  is  not  gone.  Distill  grain  and  the  spirit  is  gone. 
The  residue  will  fatten  animals,  but  the  higher  principle  is 
gone.  Animals  use  up  the  higher  principle  of  food,  and 
when  we  eat  their  flesh  we  get  a  lower  grade  of  food  than  if 
we  relied  more  on  good  vegetable  diet.  Feed  the  people  of 
Mexico  and  Spain  on  a  cooling  vegetable  diet  and  in  ten 
years  the  arena  of  the  bull  fight  will  go  out  of  use  for  want 

of  patronage. 

It  is  only  those  who  are 
Animal  Food  a  Necessity.  ^^^  informed,  who  are  not 
students  in  physiology,  who  will  argue  that  animal  flesh  as 
a  food  is  necessary  for  health  and  strength.  We  have  not 
the  space  to  argue  this  question  at  length  as  we  would  like 


1 66  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

to  do,  but  there  is  no  argument  necessary  when  a  few  facts 
cited  are  sufficient  to  satisf>^  the  mind  that,  since  hundreds 
who  are  strong,  healthy  people,  who,  from  childhood,  lived 
a  pure  vegetarian  life  and  who  made  life  a  success.  Dr. 
Simmse's  daughter,  a  young  lady  of  19  years,  was  traveling 
with  her  father,  who  was  delivering  lectures  on  anthro- 
pology at  Grand  Rapids,  Alicli.  She  had  one  of  those  huge 
so-called  Saratoga  trunks,  the  terror  of  baggagemen.  Two 
expressmen  found  much  fault  with  her  large  trunk,  that  it 
was  more  than  two  men  could  handle.  The  young  lady  be- 
came impatient  and  said  to  the  two  men  to  take  the  one  end 
of  the  trunk  and  she  would  take  the  other  end,  which  they 
did,  and  she  threw  her  end  on  the  wagon  first.  It  was 
about  all  the  two  men  could  do  to  put  up  their  end  of  the 
trunk.  The  young  lady  never  in  her  life  ate  meat.  Those 
men,  as  we  knew  (for  we  saw  the  circumstance  we  have  re- 
lated), were  not  very  careful  in  their  habits.  The}^  smoked 
and  drank,  ate  meats,  and,  of  course,  they  were  weak,  for  no 
one  is  strong  whose  blood  is  poisoned. 

Some  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  earth  were  vegetarians — 
Alcott,  Swing,  Newman,  Trail,  Harvard,  Franklin,  Wads- 
worth,  Hawthorne — and,  in  a  word,  more  than  two-thirds  of 
the  educated  classes,  in  which  are  included  man}^  mechanics 
and  some  very  hard-working  people  who  are  vegetarians. 
Then  think  of  the  horse ;  and  had  we  not  better,  like  the 
horse,  take  our  food  first-hand  from  nature  ?  Why  does  the 
horse  get  on  so  well  without  flesh  food?  W^e  think  man 
henceforth  had  better  be  classed  amongst  herbivorous  ani- 
mals in  place  of  omnivorous.  What  would  be  nearer  right, 
is  to  place  man  in  the  class  of  ccrco-frunirorous.  IMeat  flesh 
is  stimulating,  excites  the  system  to  an  unnatural  activity, 
while  vegetable  diet  is  cooling  and  nutritious. 

_       ___,  _         _    _        We    introduce    this    subject    to 

For  Whose  Benefit  ?  1    1    ^  in 

help  the  wage-worker  all  we  possi- 
bly can,  for  a  dollar  saved  is  a  dollar  earned;  and  then  in 
regard  to  the  diet  of  a  workingman,  much  is  to  be  consid- 
ered:   1st,  to  know  what  the  best  food  is;  2d,  how  he  can 


MORAL,   SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 


167 


save  and  still  be  fed  so  that  he  has  strength  for  his  work, 
and  3d,  his  health  must  be  of  first  consideration.  All  meat- 
eating  animals  (the  carnivorous)  are  scavengers.  Their 
function  is  to  eat  the  carcasses  and  thus  prevent  stagnating 
the  air  by  the  decaying  dead  in  open  air.  It  would  not  be  a 
very  high  compliment  to  humankind  to  be  classed  with  the 
scavenger  animals. 

Herewith  appended  is  a  scale  giving  the  comparative 
value  of  the  leading  articles  of  diet  so  you  can  have  some- 
thing of  a  guide  to  a  systematic  and  scientific  way  of  living, 
economize  (save  money)  and  yet  live  well : 

CHEMICAL   ANALYSIS  OF    FOOD.* 


Pbos. 

Nigt. 

Garb. 

15 

20 

12 

40 

12 

30 

10 

50 

16 

16 

14 

5 

20 

10 

5 

10 

10 

2 

10 

10 

2 

12 

10 

5 

16 

6 

18 

20 

6 

11 

16 

W 

16 

24 

1 

11 

40 

Plios.  Nigt.  Cart). 


Beef 

Mutton 

Lamb 

Pork 

Veal 

Codfish , 

Salmon 

Herring 

Oysters 

Clains 

Egg  (white) 

Kgg  (yolk) 

Wild  Duck 

Goose 

Catfish i    1 


Wheat 

Corn 

Buckwheat. 

Barley 

Oats 

Peas 

Rice 

Potatoes  . . . 

Sweets 

Turnips 

Cabbage 

Starch  

Corn-Mush  s 

Celery 

Apples 


Food  containing  the  hydro-caj'-bon  furnishes  the  warming 
principle  of  the  system.  Food  containing  7iitroge7i  furn- 
ishes muscle-building  material.  Food  containiu'^  phos- 
phorus or  the  phosphates  furnish  brain,  bone  and  nerve- 
building  material.  Animal  flesh  contains  the  first  two 
mentioned,  namel}^,  carbon  and  nitrogen.  Vegetables  con- 
tain these  elements  and  all  other  elements  necessary  to 
good  health  and  strength  of  the  body.  Animal  flesh  as  a 
food  does  not  contain  all  the  elements  necessarj'  to  life, 
while  a  vegetable  food  does,  and  hence  is  not  only  reliable, 

*  The  chart  given  above  is  divided  so  that  at  a  glance  yon  can  dis- 
cern the  article  of  food  you  may  need,  making  your  selections  intelli- 
gently from  the  (leading)  articles  we  have  here  selected.  The  first 
column  (phosphorus)  gives  the  bone  and  brain-building  value  ;  the 
pecond  (nitrogen'  the  muscle,  and  the  third  column  (carbon)  the  heat- 
producing  principle. 


l68  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

better  and  healthier,  but  is  very  much  cheaper.  For  break- 
fast begin  with  fruit,  whatever  may  be  in  season,  then  a  dish 
of  oatmeal,  two  eggs,  home-made  bread  and  a  good  cup  of  cof- 
fee, or  hot  water  or  milk.  This  is  a  good  breakfast  for  any 
workingman  or  anyone  else,  but  the  point  we  wish  to  give 
here  is,  that  if  we  have  a  meat  diet  the  meat  alone  will  cost 
more  than  the  rest  together  and  you  will  not  get  as  much 
strength  from  the  meat  as  you  would  from  the  purely  vege- 
table meal.  We  would  not  exclude  eggs.  Two  eggs  will 
give  a  man  more  strength  than  he  can  get  from  a  pound  of 
beefsteak. 

GONE  TO  THEIR  LONG  HOME. 

Having  shown  the  effect 
$1,200,000,000  Per  Annum,  of /<,^rf  on  character  and  the 
purse,  we  will  take  the  liberty  briefly  to  say  something  on  the 
^' drink  habits  Viewing  the  subject  from  the  financial,  hu- 
mane and  physiological  standpoints  we  will  cover  all  practi- 
cal argument  in  favor  of  a  total  abnegation  of  an  indulgence 
that  leaves  its  millions  strewn  all  along  the  path  of  life. 
One  by  one  they  drop  out,  one  here  another  there,  as  the 
result  of  the  use  of  distilled  liquors  as  a  beverage.  Every 
wage-earner  in  the  land  who  will  make  this  subject  of  ^^Sci- 
entific Living^^  a  daily  study  (practically)  he  for  one  will 
be  able  to  break  the  line  of  distinction.  No  man  can  do 
more  than  to  do  right,  and  none  can  rise  higher  in  the  social 
scale  than  one  whose  conduct  is  beyond  reproach.  Marcus 
Antonius  says:  "Be  simple  and  modest  in  deportment,  and 
treat  with  indifference  whatever  lies  between  virtue  and 
vice." 

The  lives  destroyed  each  year  by  the  drink  habit  in  this 
country  amounts  to  over  120,000,  and  the  amount  of  liquor 
consumed  in  1S91,  taking  the  revenue  report  and  estimat- 
ing it  at  a  low  average,  and  we  have  the  enormous  sum  of 
$1,200,000,000.  This  amount  of  money  spent  annually 
for  intoxicating  drinks  alone,  if  properly  invested,  would  se- 
cure a  snug  little  home,  costing  a  little  over  ^850  each,  to 
one  million  families,  and  counting  five  persons  to  each  fLimily 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY.  1 69 

(which  is  the  average  estimate  given  by  the  census  reports) 
and  we  have  a  comfortable  home  given  to  over  5,000,000  of 
people  ;  besides,  if  this  was  saved  by  a  thorough  reform  in 
the  drink  habit,  another  vast  sum  annually  could  be  added 
to  the  above,  for  no  estimate  is  yet  made  of  the  probable 
cost  incurred  by  every  community  where  liquor  is  sold  in 
prosecuting  and  supporting  criminals  and  paupers.  Think 
also  of  the  orphans  and  widows  and  countless  miseries  that 
follow  as  the  sequence  of  the  unholy  traffic. 

There  were  manufactured  in  the  United  States,  in  the 
year  1S91,  91,157,565  gallons  of  spirituous  liquors.  If  this 
was  sold  out,  averaging  sixty  drinks  to  the  gallon  and  at 
ten  cents  per  drink,  the  amount  realized  would  figure  up 
1546,945,390.  This  is  only  for  one  class  of  drinks.  The 
estimated  expenditure  for  fermented  liquors,  at  five  cents  a 
drink,  will  foot  up  for  the  same  year  $586,487,856.  And  if 
we  credit  revenue  statistics  the  drink  habit  is  really  on  the 
increase.  M.  Fillmore  Brown,  in  t\i^  America7i  Journal  of 
Politics,  makes  the  statement  that  during  the  last  four  years 
the  liquor  traffic  has  increased  at  the  rate  of  almost  $100,- 
•000,000  per  annum.  These  figures  show  a  sorry  condition 
of  our  people.  Notwithstanding  the  laudable  work  of  the 
temperance  element,  there  is  but  little  abatement  in  the 
consumption  of  stimulating  drinks  and  tobacco.  The  only 
point  that  has  been  gained  is  that  the  line  is  more  sharply 
drawn  between  those  who  indulge  in  these  destructive 
habits  and  those  who  do  not. 

We  stated  that  over  100,000  lives  are  sacrificed  per  annum 
to  this  terrible  drink  habit;  but  you  say  lives  have  no  finan- 
cial value.  Then,  if  that  is  so,  the  loss  of  life  can  only  be 
considered  from  a  moral  point  of  view.  In  an  article  we 
wrote  for  the  Vincennes  Commercial,  on  the  "cost  of  an 
idea,"  a  f^w  years  since,  we  showed  by  careful  computation 
that  it  cost  to  raise  a  man  or  woman  from  birth  to  thirty-two 
years  of  age  (which  is  the  average  longevity  of  people  who 
indulge  in  spirituous  beverages),  everything  considered, 
about  $3,000.     This  would  aggregate,  at  a  low  calculation, 


lyO  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

another  annual  sum  of  $10,000,000,  wliicli  is  an  absolute 
loss,  as  are  also  all  the  other  sums  we  have  shown  in  actual 
mathematical  calculation,  for  none  of  these  firey  and  stimu- 
lating beverages,  whether  much  or  little,  nourish  the  body- 
in  the  least,  but  absolutely  shorten  life.  Premature  death 
is  a  loss  to  the  community,  for  a  man  pays  taxes,  brings  up 
children,  cares  for  his  family,  helps  on  humanity,  and  hence 
we  are  justified  in  speaking  of  loss  of  life.  Here  we  are 
menaced  by  a  dangerous  foe,  which  it  is  incumbent  for  our 
government  to  abolish  and  thus  to  protect  its  citizens. 
Morally  speaking,  it  behooves  every  individual  wage-earner 
of  America  to  guard  against  the  drink  habit  and  at  once 
identify  himself  or  herself  with  that  organization  or  move- 
ment on  foot  which  looks  towards  total  abstinence  and  the 
abolishing  of  all  stimulating  beverages  in  the  form  of 
liquor  traffic  from  the  land.  For  it  can  readily  be  seen  that 
the  subject  needs  no  further  argument  to  convince  even  the 
most  incredulous  that  our  position  is  correct,  especially 
since  three  facts  present  themselves  as  a  self  evident  truth, 
namely  :  ist,  the  use  of  liquors  as  a  beverage  does  not  furnish 
substances  necessary  for  the  nourishment  of  the  bod}' ;  2d, 
the  drink  habit  does  harm  ;  in  place  of  prolonging  life  by 
supplying  the  needs  of  the  system  it  predisposes  all  who 
indulge  in  these  stimulating  drinks  to  disease,  and  for  this 
reason  no  one  can  take  their  chances  and  expect  to  come 
out  all  right;  3d,  the  extravagance  that  must  follow  habits 
of  this  kind,  in  spending  money  for  anything  that  does  not 
give  you  value  received  in  any  sense,  is  like  throwing 
money  away,  and  far  worse  in  this  instance,  for  ifA'ou  in- 
dulge in  spirituous  liquors  you  do  not  only  lose  mone}^  but 
your  health  and  life  is  injured  thereby,  and  hence  a  judi- 
cious business  man  will  at  ouce  form  a  correct  conclusion. 
He  will  take  his  pencil  and  figure  out  how  much  he  can 
save  in  the  course  of  years  by  abstaining  from  a  thing  that 
does  no  good,  but  does  hiui  great  injury-,  and,  besides,  robs 
him  of  not  less  than  ;^4o  a  year — :*4oo  in  ten  vears — and  at 
the  same  time  he  is  in  danger  of  the  liabit  growing  on  him^ 


MORAL,  vSOCIAL,  FOOD    AND  -BODY.  1 71 

that  long  before  ten  years  are  reached  the  cost  of  the  drink 
habit  will  double  on  him  twice  to  three  times  and  he  will 
curse  the  day  when  he  first  began  the  habit  of  drink. 

Another  habit,  as  the  one  we  have  just  treated  of,  is  the 
use  of  tobacco. 

Physiological  points  and  axioms  bearing  on  tlie  subject  of 
a  good^  strong  mind  in  a  good^  strong  body. 

Gross  food  will  build  up  a  gross  body  and  in  so  far  as 
the  organic  structure  is  of  a  low  order,  the  product  of  a  low 
order  of  diet,  the  character  will  be  affected  to  a  very  great 
degree.  A  highly  refined  fibrous  structure  (high-toned)  of 
body  is,  as  a  rule,  found  in  people  who  live  on  a  carefull}^ 
selected  diet,  consisting  mainly  of  fruit,  cereals  and  vege- 
tables. In  this  kind  of  diet,  with  a  view  to  enjoying 
the  blessings  of  refinement,  health,  strength  and  long  life, 
we  almost  entirely  exclude  animal  flesh  from  the  menu., 
especially  from  children.  Animal  food  is  never  admissible 
in  the  diet  of  children  until  the  lapse  of  at  least  eight  to 
ten  years  of  age.  There  is  not  much  difficulty  in  perma- 
nently laying  the  foundation  of  refinement  and  an  even, 
happy  disposition  in  children  who  are  properly  fed.  What- 
ever the  habits  may  be  of  the  child,  the  after  life  will 
largely  be  what  is  implanted  during  the  period  of  youth. 
Then  there  is  not  so  much  importance  to  be  attached  to  the 
kind  of  food  as  to  the  way  food  is  prepared  for  the  table. 
Good  cooking  is  as  much  a  science  as  the  proper  selection 
of  food.  The  very  best  food,  brought  up  to  us  in  purity 
and  perfectness  by  nature  for  our  use,  is  destroyed  by  the 
cook  on  its  way  through  the  kitchen  from  nature's  labora- 
tory to  the  table.  Complicated  dishes,  richl}^  mixed,  over 
or  underdone,  and  we  wonder  not  that  men  sometimes  step 
over  the  limitation  line  of  right,  although  the  will  power  is 
strong  and  the  moral  sense  acute. 

Correct  formation  of  habits,  as  also  character,  during  the 
childhood  years,  and  there  will  not  be  great  necessity  for 
the  reformation  of  persons  brought  up  in  the  right  manner, 
physiologically,  morally  and  aesthetically. 


1^2  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

All  peoples  should  be  familiar  with  the  natural  laws  of 
life  aud  learn  well  the  axiom  that  the  Jnghroad  to  health 
leads  also  to  ivealth.  The  Greek  philosophers  valued  the 
enjoyment  of  health  far  more  than  even  great  wealth. 
Theophrastus  was  the  author  of  the  following  invocation  : 

' '  Health  !  thou  most  august  of  the  blessed  good- 
In vocation.  ^^^^^^  ys\\S\  thee  may  I  spend  the  remainder  of  my  l.fe  ; 
mayest  thou  benignly  dwell  with  me  ;  for  if  there  be  any  pleasure  to 
be  derived  from  riches,  or  children,  or  royal  power  making  men  equal 
to  the  gods,  or  longing  desire,  which  we  hunt  after  with  the  secret  nets 
of  Venus  ;  or  if  there  be  any  other  delight  bestowed  on  men  by  the 
gods,  or  respite  from  pains,  with  thee,  blessed  Health,  all  these  flourish 
and  beam  effulgent  like  the  spring  arising  from  the  graces  :  without 
thee,  no  one  is  happy." 

^'Now  comes  the  winter  of  7uy  discontent.''^ 

where  there  is  much   smoke  there  must   be   some 

fire! 

"  Evil  events  from  evil  causes  spring, 
And  what  you  suffer  flows  from  what  you've  done." 

^,  .    ,      ,  ,        ^  We  cannot  well  pass  by 

Somethins:  to  Think  About.  i  •    ^     r  i   • 

vjv/iiiti.iiiiis   ^^  a  subject  of  so  much  im- 

portance to  our  wage-earners,  and  do  justice  to  all  parties 
concerned  in  our  work — the  tobacco  habit.  This  subject, 
you  may  say,  is  an  innovation,  but  you  will  decide  otlier- 
wise  when  3^ou  think  for  a  moment  of  the  enormous  traffic 
and  commercial  commodity  tobacco  has  become,  and  our 
wage-workers  should  understand  scientifically  the  effect 
tobacco  has  on  the  health  of  the  one  who  uses  it.  We 
all  should  labor  as  in  one  common  cause,  which  leads  to  the 
emancipation  of  all  men  from  slavery.  We  can  conceive  of 
no  greater  millenium  than  that  which  will  make  all  men 
free  and  equal,  practically  as  well  as  theoretically.  It  has 
been  the  great  desire  of  our  life  to  see  all  men  drop  the 
shackels  of  servitude,  the  ostracism  of  caste  and  class  dis- 
tinction, and  the  time  when  only  the  laws  of  nature  shall 
govern  us  all  alike — when  human  slavery,  subject  to  ancient 
royalty,  or  modern  aristocratic  chattlcdom,  seen  in  its  orig- 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD   AND    BODY.  1 73 

inal  form  in  our  own  country,  and  aped  after  still,  shall 
cease  to  exist 

It  has  always  been  our  aim  to  oppose  slavery  in  whatever 
form  it  appeared,  national  or  personal.  "A  fellow-feeling 
makes  us  wondrous  kind,"  and  the  reason  we  advocated  full 
freedom  for  all  was,  perhaps,  because  we  enjoy  it  ourself. 

The  time  was^  and,  alas !  to  some  extent  still  is^  when  the 
wage-worker  was  a  slave  to  capital.  In  this  respect,  how- 
ever, he  is  becoming  yearly  more  independent. 

"  The  freer  you  make  men  the  better  you  make  them," 
Matthews  truly  said  long  ago.  False  education — dogmatic 
belief — is  slavery,  but  there  is  no  slavery  more  abject  and 
humiliating  than  that  by  which  men  and  women  bind  them- 
selves to  their  own  follies  and  habits. 

Emerson  says :  "  We  are  all  slaves  to  our  organism ; " 
that  is,  we  are  absolutely  servants  of  our  own  body,  in  that  we 
cannot  escape  obedience  to  the  natural  laws  which  govern 
life  and  a  happy  perpetuity  of  the  various  faculties  which 
are  the  attributes  of  the  individual  being.  It  is  about  all 
that  we  can  do  or  have  time  to  do  to  meet  nature's  require- 
ments, but  when,  in  addition,  we  acquire  habits  not  included 
in  the  bill  of  fare,  the  unavoidable,  then  is  when  we  are  en- 
slaved, and,  worst  of  all,  the  victims  of  our  own  follies. 

A  source  or  cause  of  pain,  suffering,  sorrow  and  prema- 
ture death  is  in  your  own  hands,  and  yet,  alas  !  you  will  not^ 
you  think  you  cannot^  and  yet  yon  can^  free  yourself  from 
its  servile  power.  By  so  doing  you  may  save  your  life — 
spare  yourself  to  your  family  and  the  world  and  save  money 
besides.  What  money  you  save  you  need  not  work  for.  A 
dollar  saved  is  a  dollar  ear^ied.  Spend  no  money  unless 
you  get  a  commensurate  return  for  it. 

In  a  commercial  sense  you  get  an  equivalent  when  you 
buy  cigars  or  tobacco,  but  you  don't  get  "value  received" 
for  the  money  investment,  in  a  physiological  sense.  On 
the  contrary  you  are  injured  by  the  transaction,  if  to  be 
used  by  yourself 


174  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

All  the  tobacco  in  the  United  States  would  not  make  a 
drop  of  blood  for  you.  One  thing  it  will  do.  It  will  make 
the  heart  go  faster,  and  the  faster  you  run  any  machinery 
the  soo7ier  it  wears  out.  This  is  an  axiom  requiring  no 
proof  Tobacco  will  cause  heart  disease.  A  smoker's  lungs 
will  become  as  funiid  as  a  piece  of  smoked  meat.  This  ex- 
cessive inhalation  of  tobacco  fume  hardens  the  lung  tissues 
to  such  an  extent  that  normal  elasticity  is  gradually  de- 
stroyed, the  lungs  are  discolored,  until  they  are  almost  as 
black  as  Erebus.  The  blood  becomes  poisoned,  the  nerves 
shattered  and  the  breath  offensive  through  the  use  of  this 
favorite  "weed."  It  affects  the  brain  and  cripples  3^our 
mental  powers  for  want  of  pure  brain  vitality.  Let  us  take 
a  practical  view  of  this  tobacco  question  and  give  you  a  rea- 
son for  our  faith  on  this  subject: "" 

Three  cigars  a  day,  costing  five  cents  each,  will,  in  a 
year,  amount  \.o  fifiy-foiLr  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents.  If 
you  are  more  exquisite  in  your  taste,  and  indulge  in  "ten 
centers,"  your  annual  cigar  bill  will  be  $109.50.  Quite  a 
nice  little  sum  to  blow  in  the  air!  Now  by  freeing  j'our- 
self  from  this  social  slavery  you  have  just  that  much  less  to 
earn^  or  more  to  save.  This  sum  will  clothe  your  family 
and  yourself  nicely  and  do  away  with  that  stale  excuse  for 
not  going  to  a  public  lecture,  that  yowx  clothes  are  too  poor. 

Wh}^,  the  young  man  smoker  could  in  a  few  years  save 

*  Roger  S.  Tracy,  M.  D. ,  Sam/ary  Inspector  of  the  New  Yorfi.  City 
Healili  Departmeyit,  and  aritJwr  of  Hand-boofi  of  Sanitary  Information, 
etc. ,  says  : 

"  Of  tobacco  it  may  be  said  that,  although  it  is  a  poisonous  weed, 
and,  when  first  used,  produces  alarming  symptoms  of  nervous  prostra- 
tion, it  is  soon  tolerated  by  the  system,  and  becomes  a  source  of  great 
comfort  and  satisfaction  to  those  who  use  it  habitually.  The  excessive 
secretion  of  saliva,  however,  in  those  who  chew  it  produces  extreme 
thirst,  and  may  thus  lead  to  the  habitual  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants  ; 
while  tobacco  smoke,  constantly  irritating  the  mucus  membrane  of  the 
throat  and  nose,  produces  chronic  catarrh  of  those  parts.  It  is  said 
that  no  habitual  smoker  has  a  healthy  throat.  It  has  been  abundantly 
shown  that  the  habitual  use  of  tobacco  stunts  the  growth,  and  it  should 
therefore  be  shunned  by  the  young." 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY.  1 75 

euougli  money  to  give  liim  a  nice  little  start  in  life  and 
share  it  with  his  little  sweetheart  by  furnishing  that 
romantic  "  cottage,"  so  often  quoted  by  romancers.  At  any 
rate,  by  giving  up  tobacco  you  will  have  a  cleaner  mouth, 
sweeter  breath  and  better  appetite  and  more  respect  from 
the  ladies. 

It  is  estimated  that  over  one  billion  dollars  is  annually 
blown  in  the  air  as  tobacco  smoke  !  This  would  feed  and 
clothe  over  120,000  families  each  J^ear,  yet  we  grumble  when 
we  have  no  ready  spending  money. 

Kvery  person  who  is  a  victim  to  the  tobacco  habit  is  in 
greater  danger  when  illness  overtakes  them  than  if  they  did 
not  use  it.  But  you  may  say  that  some  people  have  lived 
to  a  ripe  old  age  and  had  always  used  tobacco  freely.  Well, 
we  admit  it,  but  you  wall  also  admit,  that  having  lived  so 
long  with  tobacco,  they  would  have  lived  longej'  and  better 
if  they  had  never  used  it. 

' '  Nothing  is  so  indicative  of  deepest  culture  as  a  tender  consideration 
of  the  ignorant." 

__  Dress    becominorly  and  in  accordance  with 

Homesoun.  ,      .  ^     ^  ^-  ^     j  ^^ 

your  business   and  station.      io    dress    well 

and  at  the  same  time  to  do  so  cheaply  is  quite  a  study.  A 
study  of  the  decorative  art  will  be  a  great  help  in  making 
cheap  goods  look  welL  This  is  economy.  A  man  is  esti- 
mated to  a  great  degree  in  society  by  the  clothes  he  wears, 
but  not  so  much  by  the  quality  as  by  the  fitness  of  what  he 
wears.  The  artistic  taste  of  an  individual  is  discerned  at 
once  by  clothing  being  properly  fitted  to  his  person ;  it 
evinces  an  artistic  mind.  With  the  wealthy  the  item  of 
cost  is  of  little  concern,  but  they,  as  a  rule,  give  to  the 
subject  of  dressing  becomingly  much  study  from  the 
artisic  standpoint. 

The  wage-earner  is  obliged  to  consider  the  cost,  therefore 
the  more  he  knows  of  the  decorative  art  the  cheaper  he  can 
get  on  and  yet  appear  well  in  society. 

In  this  respect  the  indications  are  that  we  are  getting 
back  again  to  first  principles — homespun  will  be  preferred. 


176  MOr.AL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

It  is  an  axiom  with  a  large  majority  of  our  best  people  that 
goods  at  a  medium  price  are  the  best  for  wear  and  the 
cheapest  in  the  end.  The  main  point  we  contend  for  is 
this  :  That,  however  cheap  a  fabric  may  be,  the  wearer  of 
the  same  will  pass  for  a  cultured  person  if  his  clothes  are 
becoming,  artistically  made  up  and  properly  fitted  to  his 
form. 

Cultivate,  therefore,  good  taste  in  these  matters  and  learn 
how  to  buy,  so  that  what  3'ou  buy  will  do  you  good  service. 
Clothes  should  wear  out  and  not  give  out.  The  wage- 
earner  then  should  endeavor  to  master  t/rree  pohitsin  dress, 
namely,  cost^  service  and  the  artistic^  which  will  put  money 
in  his  purse  and  at  the  same  time  he  will  appear  well  in 
societ3^ 

_,,,._       ^  TT    11  It   ^^s    \o\\%   been    a    favorite 

Public  Lecture  Halls.  ^.  .^,         ^x,  .  c      cc    .• 

^.    .      ^,         ,.  theory  with  us  that  for  effective 

Civic  Education.  it         •     ^-      1        11 

work  111  disseminating  knowledge 

among  the  people  the  easiest  way,  the  cheapest  and  most 
efficacious,  is  by  public  lectures,  given  by  persons  who  are 
qualified.  One  can  learn  more  in  one  evening  in  the  lecture 
room  than  from  books  by  two  weeks'  reading  and  hard  study. 
University  extension  practically  means  to  extend  university 
education  to  the  people  by  the  graduates  of  these  institu- 
tions, imparting  their  knowledge  in  a  popularized  form  to 
the  citizen,  by  giving  popular  lectures.  In  other  words, 
university  extension  is  a  system  by  which  knowledge  get- 
ting is  made  easy  and  cheap,  and  people  can  keep  up  their 
studies  after  they  leave  school,  and  after  they  are  mai-tied, 
and  during  their  business  career.  This  may  be  more  prop- 
erly called  civic  education.  It  was  a  grand  conception  of 
the  mind  of  those  who  first  introduced  the  so-called  "  uni- 
versity extension  lecture  course,"  and  when  once  fully 
developed  promises  the  most  satisfactory  results  than  any- 
thing yet  attempted  in  the  promotion  of  civic  education. 
Here  is  a  movement  for  the  commonwealth  to  lend  a  helping 
hand.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  a  certain  sum  should 
not  be  set  aside  from  taxes  accruing  from  liquor  licenses  to 


HON.  JOHN  GRIFFIN  CARLISLE. 
Plate  XV-For  sketch  see  page  222. 


MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD   AND    BODY.  177 

pay  some  of  tlie  expenses  of  these  lectures.  It  is  important 
always  to  be  well  guarded  against  wrong 
By  VVhom.  ^^^^^^^^^^^qj^  i^  acquiring  knowledge  it  is  very 
unfortunate  for  any  one  to  learn,  after  a  few  years,  that  you 
have  to  U7ilearn  what  you  were  lead  to  believe  was  correct 
knowledge.  It  takes  about  as  much  of  our  time  to  unlearn, 
that  is,  to  disabuse  our  minds  of  erroneous  ideas,  than  to 
le?rn  the  truth  in  the  first  place.  No  learning  is  better 
than  false  learning.  The  most  ignorant  and  untaught  are 
more  easily  taught  the  truth  than  those  who  are  learned 
but  falsely  taught.  The  value  and  importance  to  an  indi- 
vidual, whose  first  impression,  or  concept,  is  correctly  and 
truthfully  made  in  the  first  place,  cannot  be  estimated  or 
expressed  by  word  or  pen. 

Hence  it  will  be  incumbent  on  those  who  manage  these 
''exte7iston  lectures''  to  invite  to  the  platform  speakers  by 
whom  (as  we  believe)  the  truth— reliable,  verified  knowl- 
edo-e— is  to  be  given  to  the  people.  These  lecturers,  men 
and  women,  should  be  experienced  and  qualified  by  educa- 
tion. They  need  not  be  graduated  from  a  university,  but  it 
shouU  be  well  known  that  they  are  capable— specialists 
hi^h  up  and  strictly  in  pulse  with  the  ever-growing  science. 
Knowledge-getting  is  like  working 
The  Counterfeit.  ^^^  money.  If  the  money  you  get  in 
exchange  for  your  labor  is  counterfeit,  then  you  will  not 
only  lose  your  labor,  but  your  time  is  gone  where  the 
"woodbine  twineth."  The  labor  you  can  give  again,  but 
the  lost  time  can  never  be  recalled.  These  lectures  should 
assume  the  academic  order-^nr^\y  secular,  free  from  far- 
fetched  theories,  personal  "axe-grinding,"  dogmatism  or 
party  polirics.  (Politics  is  a^  proper^  subject,  but  must  be 
free  from  the  narrow  ideas  of  "party"). 

In  every  community,  town,  city  and 
Public  Halls.  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^  should  be  a  public  hall,  built  by 
the  public's  money,  and  if  properiy  planned  will  be  self- 
sustaining  almost  from  the  beginning.  The  size  (capacity) 
must  be  governed  by  the  population,  extending  your  calcu- 


178  MORAL,  SOCIAL,  FOOD    AND    BODY. 

lation  into  the  future  somewhat,  for  the  country  is  growing 
rapidly.  These  public  lecture  halls  should  be  built  over 
two  fine  storerooms  or  in  the  rear,  if  the  lot  will  permit. 
The  storerooms  will  readily  rent  and  this  rent  w^ll  go  far 
towards  defraying  expenses  of  the  lectures.  Ever}^  town- 
ship should  have  a  public  lecture  hall.  The  usual  munici- 
pal of&cers  can  take  care  of  and  manage  this  work  in  spread- 
ing knowledge.  We  would  suggest  the  appointment  of  an 
executive  committee,  consisting  of  five  ladies,  whose  busi- 
ness it  shall  be  to  manage  the  entertainments,  to  correspond 
with  and  invite  lecturers  from  time  to  time.  A  very  large 
number  of  lecturers  and  persons  to  read  and  give  elocution- 
ary entertainments,  as  well  as  concerts,  would  be  glad  to 
lend  their  help  free  of  charge  if  unavoidable  expenses  are 
met  by  the  executive  committee. 

Home  talent  should  be  encouraged  as  much  as  possible. 
Joint  debates,  for  a  change,  may  be  of  much  educational 
good,  if  properly  conducted,  though  we  do  not  think  debates, 
as  a  rule,  are  conducive  of  much  good.  Papers  read,  essa3's 
and  lectures  may  be  criticised  in  five  to  ten  minutes, 
speeches  by  the  audience  following  the  speaker,  giving  the 
speaker  ten  minutes  to  defend  his  position  and  close.  Choir 
singing  at  the  opening  and  closing  of  each  of  these  meet- 
ings will  make  the  place  attractive  and  entertaining.  We 
would  set  apart  two  evenings  in  the  week  for  these  lectures 
and  other  entertainments — Monday  and  Friday  nights. 
The  other  nights  the  hall  may  be  rented  and  thus  add  to 
the  income  of  the  enterprise.  This  property  should  be  free 
from  taxation.  In  the  saying  of  an  ancient  philosopher  we 
close  our  remarks  on  this  subject :  ^^Nemo  solus  sapid  f"*  that 
is,  none  are  wise  alone. 


RANDOM  TflOOGHTS. 


National  Park  Improveinent;  Work  for  the  Jobless  Man  • 
Four  Months  Each  Year;  Less  Than  Half  a  Million; 
Landscape  Art;  All  the  World  will  be  Attracted 
There^  Etc.^  Etc. 

"  The  wealth  of  a  nation,  its  peace  and  well-being-  depend  on  the 
number  of  persons  it  can  employ  in  making  good  and  useful  things. 
Employment  is  the  half,  and  the  primal  half,  of  education." — Spencer. 


LET   THE   GOVERNMENT   HELP. 

T  *.   •     Txr      i4.t-         '^^^   government    can    do 

Improvement  is  Wealth.  ,      f        j    .    i   •         T 

^  much     toward    helping    the 

common  working  people  to  get  along  in  the  da3's  of  their 
dire  necessity  wdthout  any  real  loss  to  the  public  treasury. 
(Improvement  is  never  a  loss,  and,  as  Spencer  says,  it  is 
"the  primal  half  of  education.")  If,  as  it  presumes,  its 
business  adherents  or  its  allied  manufacturing  industries 
should  lend  them  a  helping  hand,  why  not  give  it  ?  The 
government  of  any  country  is  supposed  to  be  the  protector 
of  its  people.  If  then  its  citizens  are  to  bear  its  financial 
and  commercial  burdens  without  its  assistance  and  co-opera- 
tion, why  have  it  at  all  ?  If  the  people  are  to  do  everything 
necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  without  any  claim 
on  the  government^  then  the  government  is  a  nonentity  and 
loses  its  significance  and  power.  The  government  of  a  free 
people  is  not  intended  to  be  a  driver  or  tyrant  to  lash  its 
people  on  to  slavish  obedience,  but  to  govern  and  control 
them  in  all  things  for  the  good  of  its  citizens^  and  to  protect, 
defend  and  assist  them  in  all  matters  by  which  the}^  can  be 
prosperous  and  happy. 

What  Will  He  Do  in  the  Winter  ?      ^^°'''' °^^^  ^^v- 

ernment    could 

furnish  a  large  number  of  workingmen  with  employment 


l8o  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

on  public  improvements  during  the  winter  season.  There 
are  at  the  present  over  one  hundred  thousand  people  in  the 
employ  of  the  government,  mostly  people  who  are  appointed 
to  positions,  and  a  large  majority  receive  wages  for  skill  and 
professional  attainments.  There  are  many  thousands  of 
clerks,  so  called,  who  receive  reasonably  good  pay  in  the 
government's  employ.  It  is  doubtless  truthfully  stated  that 
all  this  great  army  of  officers  and  government  employees 
are  unavoidable ;  are  necessary  to  run  the  government. 
Still  let  ns  see  if  not  another  class  can  be  provided  for 
under  contingent  circumstances— the  man  with  his  shovel 
and  pickaxe. 

It  could  profitably  emplo}^  about  5,000  of  our  laboring 
men  during  four  months  of  every  winter — ^just  on  its  public 
improvements.  Put  them  at  work  on  the  National  Park. 
It  will  take  them  from  the  street  corners,  out  of  the  alms- 
house and  police  station,  where  so  many  seek  shelter  when 
other  help  fails  them.  A  man  out  of  work  is  dangerous. 
Idleness  is  the  stepping  stone  to  crime.  Something  to  do 
for  the  man  with  his  shovel  and  pickaxe,  the  roughness  of 
the  craggy  rocks  and  the  wild  appearance  of  a  landscape, 
where  nature  has  already  done  more  than  half,  can  be  em- 
bellished so  that  we  can  soon  boast  of  the  finest  park  in  the 
world  and  the  finest  that  the  world  ever  saw.  (We  refer  to 
the  National  Park  in  the  Yellowstone). 

By  thus  improving  what  nature  so  kindl}^  gave  us  for  our 
adornment  we  add  beauty  and  interest  to  our  country,  bring 
tourists  from  other  countries  to  feast  upon  the  novel  won- 
ders of  the  New  World,  as  we  do  upon  the  antiquities  of  the 
old,  and  create  a  source  of  enjoyment  and  pride  to  our  own 
people.  It  would  attract  settlers  to  build  up  and  improve 
that  section  of  the  country,  enhance  the  value  of  land  and 
invite  all  kinds  of  industry. 

^       ,      .  Let  the  government  appoint  or 

Landscape  Gardening,  ^^^^j^^   competent   and   experi- 

enced  landscape  artists  to  lay  out  the  grounds  artistically 
and  manage  the  work.     Gather   in   the  jobless  workmen 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  l8l 

with  their  idle  picks  and  shovels,  put  them  to  work  leveling 
and  plotting  and  planting  flowers,  trees  and  shrubberies,  and 
by  so  doing  save  them  from  starvation,  or  vagrancy,  or 
crime.  The  money  saved  in  the  payment  to  the  National 
Guards  to  cool  the  ardor  of  hunger-stricken  laboring  men 
will  go  a  great  way  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  creating  a 
National  Park^  an  improvement  that  will  not  only  do  honor 
to  America,  but  will  be  carried  down  to  future  generations 
as  an  epoch  in  the  world's  history  that,  as  a  means  of  edu- 
cation  and  works  of  art  and  science,  shall  surpass  in  gran- 
deur and  beauty  anything  man  has  ever  attempted. 

The  government  could  readily  employ  5,000 
5,000  Men.  ^^^  -^  ^^-^  laudable  enterprise  four  months 
each  year,  in  the  winter,  from  the  first  of  November  to  the 
first  of  March,  and  instead  of  thereby  depleting  the  treasury 
it  would  be  adding  to  the  real  wealth  of  the  nation,  for 
improving  the  soil  makes  land  worth  more.  In  this  instance 
it  is  not  to  make  a  profit  in  the  sense  of  heaping  up  the 
dollars,  but  it  operates  as  a  double  function :  it  will  give 
employment  to  those  who  need  it  during  the  hard  winter 
and  at  the  same  time  give  a  mighty  impulse  to  the  progress 
of  art  and  science  and  give  the  national  mind  that  increase 
of  richness  that  neither  time  nor  foe  can  destroy.  We 
believe  in  economy,  but  in  aifairs  of  public  improvement 
we  are  as  yet  a  young  nation,  and  hence  in  these  matters 
we  must  not  be  too  close  in  our  idea  of  economy. 

The  government  could  erect  barracks  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  workmen  and  furnish  them  rations  at  a  given 
price.  By  paying  these  men  $1.50  per  day  (eight  hours 
constituting  a  day's  work),  and  furnish  them  rations  at 
army  prices.  The  weather  often  being  unpropitious  during 
the  winter,  the  wages  we  suggest  we  think  about  right. 
Or,  what  would  be  better  for  all  parties  interested,  let  the 
government  hire  these  men  and  pay  them  $25.00  per  month 
and  board,  or  rations,  furnished.  This  would  keep  5,000 
men  provided  with  an  honest  living,  keep  them  out  of  mis- 
chief and  add  additional  attractions  to  our  country.     The 


1 82  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

entire  cost  could  be  paid  annually  from  the  illegal  profits 

given   for  more  than  one  government  contract  to  favorite 

"contractors."       The  entire  work  could  be  placed  under  the 

control  or  supervision  of  some  of  the  idle  army  officers,  who 

draw  big  pay  and  do  little  work,  and  thus  do  away  with 

expensive  political  iobbery. 

Tj,  ^  r  ^  •  It   is    an    old   saying:   that 

Idleness  Cause  of  Crime.  .^  ,       ,       •  j  -r 

idleness   begets  crime,  and  if 

this  affirmation  is  true  then  it  becomes  a  sacred  duty  on  the 
part  of  the  government  to  adopt  some  measure  to  suppress 
idleness,  since  it  is  incipient  crime.  There  is  an  old  trite 
saying,  that  "  the  devil  always  finds  work  for  idle  hands  to 
do."  It  was  the  idle  caville  of  Paris  that  precipitated 
several  bloody  revolutions  in  France.  National  idleness  is 
national  death  ;  and  the  greater  the  element  of  idleness  is 
in  a  country  the  greater  the  danger  threatening  its  life. 
We  do  not  call  to  mind  the  author  who  said,  "A  hundred 
thousand  idle  men  in  the  camp  are  more  to  be  feared  than 
the  same  number  of  an  armed  foe  outside."  The  govern- 
ment should  give  employment  to  the  idle  in  the  manner  we 
have  already  suggested.  There  are  a  great  many  men  who 
are  chronic  idlers,  and  will  not  work  if  employment  is 
offered  them. 

We  refer  to  a  class  who  will  not  work,  yet  they  have  not 
the  visible  means  wherewith  to  pay  their  way.  In  all  such 
cases  idleness  should  be  made  a  misdemeanor  and  be  com- 
pelled to  work.  Ruskin  very  wisely  says  :  "  Since  for  every 
idle  person  some  one  else  must  be  working,  somewhere,  to 
provide  him  with  clothes  and  food,  and  doing,  therefore, 
double  the  quantity  of  work  that  would  be  enough  for  his 
own  needs  ;  it  is  only  a  matter  of  pure  j  ustice  to  compel  the 
idle  person  to  work  for  his  maintenance  himself" 

Brigham  Young,  one  winter,  when  the  times  were 
threatening  and  work  scarce  among  his  people,  gave  employ- 
ment to  300  men  to  build  a  stone  fence  around  Salt  Lake 
City,  ostensibly  to  defend  it  against  Indian  depredations. 
When  told  that  this  wall  would  be  no  barrier  to  the  Indians, 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  1 83 

He  replied,  "I  am  not  half  as  mucli  afraid  of  tlie  Indians 
as  I  am  of  300  idle  men."  Our  government  might  wisely 
follow  this  example. 

A   STEPPING   STONE  TO   SUCCESS. 

"  Who  is  a  good  man  ?"  Horace  says  :  "  He  who  respects  the  de- 
crees of  the  L,egislature,  and  bows  to,  yields  obedience  to,  every  posi- 
tive law  and  every  moral  obligation." 

* '  Who  then  is  good  ?     Who  carefully  observes 
The  Senate's  wise  decrees,  nor  ever  swerves 
From  the  known  rules  of  justice  and  the  laws." 

71-  i.i_   i.-      /-   li.  There  is  nothing  that  calls   forth 

-Esthetic  Culture.  ^  ,    .  ,  . 

greater    respect    for    a   workmgman 

than  to  meet  with  one  who  is  high  iip  in  etiquette.  It  is 
not  only  required  of  the  wealthier  element  to  observe  well 
the  rules  of  good  manners,  but  it  is  expected  of  them.  For 
it  is  generally  believed  that  aesthetic  culture — rules  of  eti- 
quette— are  studies  and  accomplishments  suited  only  for 
peoples  who  move  in  the  so-called  upper  strata  of  society. 
This  is  erroneous.  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  possess  ac- 
complishments in  this  respect  in  order  to  attract  to  you  cul- 
tured people,  and  here,  we  are  inclined  to  think,  is  another 
rock  on  which  many  of  our  wage-ivorkcrs  wreck  their  best 
interest.  Prof  DeHaven  says:  "It  costs  nothing  to  be 
polite  under  all  circumstances."  To  meet  with  a  reassuring 
reception  among  people  who  are  cultured  one  must  be  their 
peer^  or  naturally  there  can  be  but  little  affinity.  Emerson 
says  :  "  If  you  have  no  brains,  go  to  the  merchant-tailor  and 
leave  your  order."  By  this  he  means  that  where  you  lack 
in  culture  you  will  have  to  make  up  the  deficiency  in  fine 
clothes. 

To  understand  the  rules  and  customs  of  good  society  is 
almost  as  essential  to  business  success  as  a  knowledge  of 
your  profession  or  trade.  These  rules  are  to  societ}^  what 
our  laws  of  state  are  to  the  people.  To  be  a  gentleman  is 
not  to  be  wealthy  or  famous,  but  to  be  mannerly.  A  mil- 
lionaire may  be  a  fool  and  an  admiral  a  boor,  while  a  shoe- 
maker or  a  hod-carrier  may  be  a  gentleman.      Formerly  to 


184  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

be  considered  (recognized)  a  gentleman  it  was  necessary  to 
liave  a  title  or  a  coat-of-arms.  But  race  caste  is  no  longer 
tlie  sine  quo  non  for  a  gentleman,  nor  will  education  or 
wealth  make  a  lady  or  gentleman  if  good  manners  are 
lacking. 

Good  manners  are  acquired  by  education  and  practice, 
and  there  is  no  better  place  to  practice  than  at  home  with 
3^our  wife  and  children.  Be  polite  at  home  and  you  will 
not  fail  in  good  manners  in  society. 

Manners  and  morals  are  almost  synonymous  and  insep- 
arable, and  where  they  exist  and  are  exercised  no  society 
can  be  bad.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  and  woman,  in 
order  to  succeed  well,  to  cultivate  good  manners,  not  only 
for  use  in  society,  but  in  daily  business.  Rude  manners 
are  as  harmful  to  the  laborer  as  to  the  minister.  True  po- 
liteness is  the  outward  sign  of  inner  graces.  Lord  Chester- 
field says  :  "Good  sense  and  good  nature  suggest  civility  in 
general,  but  in  good  breeding  there  are  a  thousand  little  deli- 
cacies which  are  established  only  by  custom."  True  polite- 
ness or  civility  is  one  of  the  great  essentials  to  success. 
Good  manners  is  a  letter  of  recommendation  among  strangers 
everywhere.  It  is  the  business  man's  best  "stock  in  trade." 
Some  people  think  there  is  no  virtue  or  merit  in  being  so 
particular  in  the  observance  of  these  trifling  things  in  eti- 
quette, such  as  a  bow,  the  lifting  of  your  hat,  etc.,  but  we 
should  bear  in  mind  that  the  aggregate  of  human  life  is 
made  up  of  trifles. 

If  the  merchant,  the  proprietor  or  salesman  has  his  hat 
on  and  a  cigar  in  his  mouth  when  waiting  on  a  lady  cus- 
tomer and  stands  by  while  she  opens  and  closes  the  heavy 
door  she  will  scarcely  trouble  him  much  after  one  call. 
Little  uncivil  or  rude  words  or  actions  are  sometimes  re- 
membered when  great  acts  are  forgotten.  The  cultivation 
of  good  manners  should  be  a  part  of  the  education  of  every 
person.  Some  one  says:  "A  bow  is  a  note  drawn  at  sight 
You  are  bound  to  acknowledge  it  at  once  and  to  the  full 
amount." 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  I^S 

Be  careful  in  your  conversation,  avoid  all  profanity,  vul- 
garity and  slang.  Be  a  good  listener  as  well  as  a  good 
talker.  Be  respectful  and  kind  to  the  aged  and  infirm. 
Don't  lose  your  temper  in  society ;  never  gossip  about  an 
absent  person ;  don't  notice  any  error  in  language  or  actions 
of  others  present ;  never  give  advice  unless  it  is  asked  for, 
and,  above  all  things,  be  polite  at  home  to  your  wife  and 
children  and  even  to  the  servants.  It  costs  nothing  to  be 
polite.  A  volume  on  aesthetic  culture  should  occupy  a 
place  in  our  "workingman's  library." 

"  Friend  though  to  careless  common  sight, 
A  kind  word,  like  the  widow's  mite. 

Seems  but  a  worthless  thing  ; 
In  all  the  social  marts  of  love, 
Its  purchase  power  is  worlds  above 
The  coffers  of  a  king." 

It  is  trulv  a  difficult  matter  to 
Wrestling  with  that  ^.^^  ^^^^  (^  ^i^^  ^^,^^  to  the  most 
Intricate  Subject.  ^^^^y^  When  it  suits  certain  cor- 
porations to  shut  down  they  will  do  so.  The  only  question 
with  them  is  money.  If  it  pays  to  shut  down  for  a  while 
this  they  will  do  ;  the  question  of  justice  to  their  people  is 
not  taken  into  account.  The  only  way  to  prevent  calamities, 
such  as  are  reported  in  mining  districts  frequently,  is  by  a 
compulsory  labor  bureau,  to  whose  good  judgment  such 
matters  will  have  to  be  submitted.  The  subjoined  editorial 
from  one  of  our  leading  dailies  will  explain  itself 

"  It  is  too  bad  the  coal  miners  are  again  thrown  out  of  work,  and 
people  everywhere  will  pray  that  the  suspension  of  all  the  collieries  in 
the  anthracite  region  will  be  of  short  duration.  The  miners  do  not 
make  much  money  under  the  best  of  circumstances,  and  so  when  they 
are  forced  into  idleness  their  situation  becomes  doubly  bad,  especially 
when  suspensions  come  at  the  beginning  of  winter. 

In  the  North  American  Revieiv  Cardinal  Gibbons  has  a 
paper  on  the  "  Unhappy  condition  of  the  poor,"  in  which  he 
frequently  uses  the  words  "duty"  and  "owe"  in  speaking 
of  the  rich,  and  what  their  relations  are  to  the  poor.  "  Mat- 
thew Marshall,"  in  the  New  York  Sun,  objects  to  the  words 


1 86  RANDOM   THOUGHTS. 

"duty,"  "owe,"  etc.,  taking  the  ground  tliat  tlie  rich  owe 
tlie  poor  nothing,  from  the  simple  reason  that  the  rich  are 
what  they  are,  and  for  no  better  reason  "owe"  nothing  to 
the  "poor"  for  the  same  reason  that  the  "poor"  are  in 
need.  The  rich  are  willing  to  help  the  poor,  but  they  want 
credit  for  being  benevolent ;  that  he  gives,  donates  from  his 
wealth,  and  that  the  poor  are  willing  to  acknowledge  their 
dependent  condition,  and  receive  from  the  rich  out  of  pure 
philanthropic  motives. 

,  Joseph  R.  Buchanan  comes  forward  with  a  criticism  and 
takes  the  ground  that  if  the  rich  had  been  living  under  a 
more  correct  regime  of  government,  in  which  every  work- 
ingman  would  have  received  his  just  dues,  then  they  would 
not  be  subjects  of  charity,  for  the  exercise  of  which  acts  of 
benevolence  the  rich  are  lauded  by  those  who  do  not  reason, 
but  jump  at  conclusions  in  a  sort  of  ^/r/^r^' manner.  "The 
poor  have  3^e  \vith  3^ou  alwa3^s "  was  spoken  before  there 
were  any  labor  difficulties  or  disputes.  To  finish  up  this 
thought,  we  would  say  that  we  rather  take  the  side  with  Air. 
Buchanan  ;  not  that  w^e  are  our  brother's  keeper,  but  we 
owe  one  another  the  necessities  of  existence,  and  ever}-  child 
born  into  this  world  has  a  just  claim  on  society — to  be  edu- 
cated and  receive  such  guidance  and  help  that  will  place  it, 
at  maturit}^,  in  line  which  leads  to  success. 

workingman's  library. 

"  From  labor  health,  from  health  contentment  springs  ; 
Contentment  opes  the  source  of  every  jo3^" 

1X7-      ii.t_      c  T»/r-    J         '^liG  wage-earner,    above    every  one 

Wealth  of  Mind.    ,  ^^  ,       i      u      i  c  ^ 

else  m  society,  should  take  a  careful 

inventory  semi-annually  and  carefulh'  consider  his  resources 

and  determine  on  how  to  invest  his    savings.     Wealth  is 

money  saved,  and  while  it  behooves  every  one  to,  little  by 

little,  accumulate  a  competency,  at  the  same  time  a  viental 

wealth  must  be  acquired  as  well,  so  that  the  wage-earner 

will  not  alone  pass  in  society-  as  a  man  of  industrious  habits 

and  economic   abilities,  but   //r,    nioro   tluui   others,    should 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  1 8/ 

wisely  utilize  every  nioineut  in  qualitying  himself  to  be 
enabled  to  stand  as  a  peer  with  his  fellowmen  in  the 
possession  of  mental  wealth,  and  tliis  will  lighten  his  soul. 
It  makes  him  friendly  and  kind.  Proper  education  carries 
a  man  out  of  a  groveling  state,  and  though  he  may  have  to 
perform  the  work  of  an  underling,  yet  his  learning  brings 
true  compensation  to  him,  and  by  its  wealth  there  will  come 
a  time  when  he  can  control  circumstances  so  as  to  rise  in 
position,  which,  if  he  neglects  to  lay  up,  little  by  little, 
mental  wealth,  he  will  fail  and  remain  all  his  life  a  mere 
underling.  -If  yow  work  for  a  higher  position  in  life  3'ou 
will  in  time  maice  your  point,  but  if  you  neglect  your  oppor- 
tunities no  one  will  elevate  you  to  a  place  for  which  you  are 
not  qualified.  The  simple  qualifications  of  reading,  writing 
and  spelling  are  no  evidence  of  real  intelligence.  It  is  the 
quantity  and  cjuality  of  what  a  person  knows  and  under- 
stands that  builds  up  character.  Of  course  these  simple 
acquirements  constitute  limited  knowledge^  but  are  far  from 
education.  A  silver  dime  is  money,  but  $100,000  is  wealth, 
though  it  is  still  money.  Much  learning  is  education. 
This  you  get  from  books,  if  properly  selected  and  studied. 
All  young  people  contemplating  marriage,  when  of  mature 
age,  should  possess^  as  personal  property^  some  kind  of  a  li- 
brary as  absolutely  as  a  suit  of  clothing.  For  the  most  ap- 
propriate reading  we  w^ould  suggest  the  following  books,  rec- 
ommending the  JiigJi  school  series.^  and  none  but  the  most 
modern  text-books^  physiology,  natural  philosophy,  mental  phi- 
losophy, chemistry,  botany,  astronomy,  physical  geography  and 
geology,  history  and  a  good  dictionary.  An  expenditure  of 
$15  will  supply  you  with  all  these  books  and  give  you  an 
excellent  start  in  the  proper  direction,  giving  you  a  fair  idea 
of  the  character  of  the  world  you  live  in  and  how  to  enjo}^ 
it.  The  young  lady  should  add  to  these,  for  her  special 
benefit,  a  work  on  food  and  how  to  cook  it. 

Correct  habits  and  proper  economy  will  soon  enable  you 
to  procure  this  necessary  life  equipment,  and  if  you  can 
afterward    add    a   work    on    authopology,    philosophy     and 


1 88  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

ancient  history,  commercial  law  and  bookkeeping,  they  will 
add  to  your  usefulness.  If  you  master  the  foregoing  your 
desire  for  more  may  safely  be  governed  by  your  own  taste 
and  j  udgment. 

REGULATION    OF    MULTI-MILLIONAIRES. 

"  Now  leave  the  vain,  low  strife 

That  makes  men  mad,  they  tug  for  wealth  and  power, 
The  passions  and  the  cares  that  wither  life, 
And  waste  its  little  hour." 

.  It  is  an  inevitable  tendenc}'  of  people 

Extra  Taxation,  to  accumulate  great  wealth.  A  compar- 
atively few  succeed,  some  by  sharp  dealing  and  some  by  chi- 
canery, while  a  still  less  number  become  multi-millionaires 
by  apparently  honest  means,  who  seem  to  have  simply  "luck" 
in  whatever  they  engage.  There  is  no  reason  in  political 
philosophy  why  a  man  should  not  be  taxed  on  what  he 
possesses  and  even  pay  an  extra  tax  on  ownership  of  prop- 
erty when  it  far  exceeds  a  reasonable  competency.  If,  as 
it  is  affirmed,  all  property  or  possessions  are  taxable  then 
why  not  enforce  pro  rata  taxation'^.  Moreover,  there  is  no 
class  more  able  to  pay  taxes  than  the  wealthy.  Syndicates, 
monopolies,  trusts  or  corporations  of  whatever  denomina- 
tion should  be  required  by  law  to  pay  taxes  on  all  they  pos- 
sess. Money  loaned  or  money  in  bank  or  vested  in  specu- 
lation should  be  subject  to  taxation. 

Then  there  are  those  who  have  amassed  large  fortunes  in 
manufacturing  commodities  under  a  highly  protective  tariff 
system  from  which  the  country  at'large  derives  little  benefit 
and  who,  by  such  accumulations,  are  still  adding  to  their 
fortunes  daily.  These  should  not  entirely  escape  our 
attention.  Pro  rata  taxation  on  all  possessions,  and  then 
there  should  be  an  extra  tax  levied  on  accuuiulatiug  wealth 
after  a  given  point  has  been  reached.  Tliis,  no  doubt,  will 
regulate  the  multi-millionaire  as  all  incongruous  element, 
or  such  tendenc}'-  in  society  may  be  regulated  by  law. 

Pvxcess  of  wealth  is  as  great  an  evil  as  excess  of  povert3\ 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  1 89 

It  breeds  aristocracy  and  monarchy  by  placing  too  much 
power  in  tbe  bands  of  a  few  individuals.  A  millionaire 
may  be  an  independent  man  and  a  useful  citizen ;  but  when  a 
man  heaps  millions  on  millions  he  becomes  dangerous  and 
much  to  be  feared.  Having  more  than  he  needs  for  him- 
self for  legitimate  uses,  he  often  uses  his  superfluous  capital 
for  illegal  purposes.  There  should  be  a  limit  to  a  man's 
wealth,  as  there  is  in  all  else  in  nature.  Now,  to  remedy 
this  evil  in  overgorging  in  riches,  has  been  a  subject  of 
thought  with  many  a  good  statesman. 

We  have  one  idea  to  suggest  on  this  subject  which  we 
think  worthy  of  some  consideration.  It  is  pro  rata  taxa- 
tion. Let  every  man  be  taxed  on  an  equal  taxation  basis 
with  the  rest  of  mankind  until  his  possessions  amount  to 
$100,000,  then  add  one  per  cent  to  each  hundred  thousand 
thereafter.  Let  this  be  the  assessment  on  the  wealthy  in 
the  larger  first  and  second  class  cities.  For  third  class 
cities,  towns  and  rural  districts  let  the  tax  be  one  per  cent, 
after  $30,000  is  reached  and  one  per  cent,  additional  for 
every  $30,000  more,  namely,  one  per  cent  on  $30,000,  two 
per  cent  on  $60,000,  and  so  on  ad  tnjiniiurn  over  and  above 
the  usual  taxes.  This  would  be  a  tax  levied  irrespective  of 
needs,  simply  on  accumulation  of  wealth.  After  a  man  has 
obtained  two  millions  he  would  not  be  so  eager  to  amass 
more,  as  a  tax  of  twenty  per  cent,  or  twenty-five  per  cent, 
would  not  leave  him  much  margin  in  ordinary  investments. 
This  would,  in  a  great  measure,  lock  the  wheels  of  monopoly. 
These  multi-millionaires  do  a  great  deal  of  quiet  "money- 
grinding"  among  the  laboring  classes. 

WHAT    CONSTITUTES    NATIONAL    GREATNESS? 

Greatness  consists  in  knowing  that  you  are  right ; 
Then  dare  to  defend  it  with  all  your  might. 

,       ,,         ,,      .  As  a  nation  we  are  comparatively 

The  New  Nation.  ,  ^i.      r        i         n  ;j 

young  and  may,  tneretore,  be  called 

the  new  nation.     No  nation  in  the  world's  history  had  so 

many  severe  tests,    and  overcame   them    all,  as  America. 


190  RANDOM   THOUGHTS. 

Foreign  attacks  were  hard,  but  attacked  by  an  internal  foe 
was  wlien  tlie  deepest  sorrow  came  to  men's  hearts,  and 
even  now  it  requires  the  greater  vigilance  to  guard  against 
attacks  from  those  among  us  than  from  foreign  invasion. 

We  reason  largely  by  the  signs  of  the  times  and  from 
past  experience  as  to  the  future.  The  war  prophet  is  ever 
foremost  with  his  predictions.  Some  contend  that  a  most 
disastrous  labor  war  is  even  now  darkening  the  horizon  of 
our  great  country.  There  are  doubtless  many  who  leave 
nothing  undone  to  bring  on  a  war — a  war  that  would  be 
after  their  own  heart — but  it  will  never  be. 

We  have  confidence  in  the  good  sense  of  our  people.  A 
very  large  majority  will  join  us  in  promulgating  the  prin- 
ciples of  this  volume.  We  have  not  only  shown  the  various 
leading  causes  of  the  disturbances  among  us,  but  we  have 
also  formulated  the  treatment,  or,  in  other  language,  we 
have  suggested  the  remedy  that  will  head  off  t\\&  difficulties 
and  save  us  from  any  civil  strife  in  the  future. 

There  never  was  a  time  in  this  country  when  the  public 
press  was  more  united  in  the  common  sentiment  of  a  ^''gov- 
ei'uvient  of  the  people^''  a  "government  for  all  the  people," 
as  at  the  present.  In  point  we  submit  the  following  edi- 
torial, which  we  clipped  at  the  time  of  reading  it  and  neg- 
lected to  credit  it  to  the  proper  publication.  We  think, 
however,  if  we  remember  rightly,  it  was  an  editorial  from 
one  of  our  leading  Republican  dailies.  Let  this  be  as  it 
may,  it  voices  the  sentiment  of  every  editor  of  the  land  and 
every  good  citizen  who  calls  himself  an  American.  And  so 
long  as  we  can  meet  each  other  in  the  ope7i  arena  of  discus- 
sion and  shake  hands  across  the  chasm  of  part}^  strife  when 
the  battle  is  over,  so  long  will  there  be  no  war  in  our  national 
hearth  and  home.  The  following  is  an  evidence  of  the 
grandest  sentiment  of  true  patriotism  : 

"  The  tributes  paid  to  the  memory  of  ex-President  Hayes  by  the  news- 
papers of  all  parties  and  all  shades  of  opinion  are  creditable  to  the  good 
sense  of  the  American  people.  Other  nations  look  with  surprise  at  the 
intensity  of  our  party  strife  and  wonder  how  men  can  dwell  together  in 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  IQI 

peace  and  harmony  who  engage  in  such  fierce  debates  and  display 
toward  each  other  so  much  political  animosity.  They  do  not  take  into 
account,  however,  the  saving  common  sense  of  the  American  people.  It 
was  the  lot  of  Mr.  Hayes  to  encounter  unjustly  the  fiercest  resentment 
and  the  strongest  political  detraction  of  any  man  of  his  day,  but  he 
endured  it  all  with  a  quiet  dignity  that  won  the  respect  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  intelligent  people  of  the  country.  And  now  that  he  is 
dead  a  nation  mourns  at  his  coffin  and  Grover  Cleveland,  the  leader  of 
the  party  that  lost  no  opportunity  to  deride  the  ex-President,  goes  to 
his  funeral  as  one  of  the  mourners.  A  nation  that  can  perform  such  an 
act  of  justice  is  safe  from  the  demagogue." 

A  FIGHT  FOR  LIFE. 
We  quote  from  Isaac  H.  Stearns,  M.  D.,  an  idea  regarding 
the  constant  conflict  that  arises  between  capital  and  labor, 
and  that  it  is  a  common  idea  that  life  is  a  fight  or  struggle 
for  existence,  which  should  be  understood  is  not  a  normal 
state  ;  co-ordination  or  harmonious  relation  is  the  true  con- 
dition.    He  says  : 

"It  is  most  remarkable  that  so  general  an 
Conflict,  ^j^^gj-ggt  ^vas  taken  in  the  prize-fights  in  New 
Orleans,  and  that  the  newspapers,  in  deference  to  the 
demand,  published  so  full  accounts  of  the  brutal  details  of 
the  several  pugilistic  exhibitions,  and  the  reflection  cannot 
be  avoided  that  the  civilized  enlightenment  of  which  we 
love  to  boast  is  still  in  the  neighborhood  of  barbarism. 
That  the  prize-fight  seems  to  so  delight  the  public  must  be 
because  it  is  a  visible  type  of  what  is  too  common  in  the 
human  heart. 

"Our  whole  industrial  system  is  founded  on  the  principle 
of  pugilism  ;  our  boys — and  girls,  too,  for  that  matter — are 
largely  taught  that  a  successful  career  can  only  be  won  by 
a  'fight  w..h  the  world.' 

"And  parents  think  their  children  can  only  do  well  by 
being  left  to  'fight'  their  way. 

"Without  question  fighting  is  sometimes  necessary,  for  in- 
dividuals as  well  as  nations,  but  it  should  be  the  last  resort. 

"These  reflections,  in  their  application  to  labor  and  capital, 
enforce  themselves  when  we  remember  that  within  three 


192  RANDOM    TITOrGHTS. 

moutlis  of  this  writing  there  have  been  three  civil  wars  in 
as  many  separate  states,  instigated  by  labor  organizations, 
involving  three  widely  different  industries — mining,  steel 
manufacturing  and  railroading. 

"These  outward  expressions  indicate  the  constant  spirit 
and  trend  of  our  trade  and  commerce,  for  labor  and  capital 
are  alike  organized  for  war. 

"The  questions  involved  in  the  relation  of  capital  to  labor 
are  far  from  being  settled,  and  that  things  will  be  worse 
before  they  are  permanently  better  admits  of  little  doubt. 

"What  our  children  and  the  world  should  be  taught  is, 
that  good  citizens  are  not  made  by  men  and  boys  fighting 
their  way,  or  fighting  the  world,  but  by  doing  their  duty 
justly,  sincerely  and  honestly  in  whatever  calling  or  trust 
that  seems  to  open  up  before  them  and  be  satisfied  with  an 
equitable  remuneration  for  their  services." 

"Conquering  may  prove  as  lordl}^  and  complete  in  lifting 
up  as  in  laying  low." 

' '  We  must  spend  our  money  in  some  way  at  some  time,  and  it  can- 
not at  any  time  be  spent  without  employing  somebody.  Every  coin 
spent  in  cultivating  the  ground,  repairing  buildings,  making  roads, 
preventing  danger  by  sea  and  land  is  so  much  al)solute  and  direct  gain 
to  the  whole  nation." — Ruskin. 

Let  us  meet  upon  the  level,  then, 

While  laboring  patient  here  ; 
Let  us  meet  and  let  us  labor, 

Though  the  labor  be  severe. 
Already  in  the  dawning  sky 
The  signs  bid  us  prepare 
To  gather  up  our  working  tools 
And  part  upon  the  square. 

There  is  a  time  when  all  are  equal — 

We  are  going  to  it  fast — 
When  the  man  that  rules  a  kingdom 

And  the  man  that  pegs  the  last, 
When  the  prince  that  dons  the  purple 

And  the  peasants  linsey  wear, 
All  shall  meet  upon  the  level 

And  be  measured  on  the  square. 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE. 
Fig.  1. 


J.  HOWARD. 
Fig.  2. 


W.  H.  BAILEY. 
Fig.  3, 


MRS.  LEONORA  M.  BARRY. 
Fig.  4. 


Plate  XVI— For  sketches  see  page  222. 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  193 

TME  PUBLIC  PRESS— OPINIONS. 

EDITORIALS — COAOIENTS  ;  EVOLUTION,  PEOPLE  AND  JOURNAL- 
ISM ;  CAMPAIGNS  ;  EDUCATIONAL  ;  MOULDING  THE  MIND  ; 
IF  THE  PRESS  IS  SHAPING  THE  SENTIMENT  OF  THE  PEO- 
PLE, WHERE  DOES  THE  RESPONSIBILITY  REST  ?  IF  NOT, 
ALL  IS  RIGHT,  WHAT  THEN?  OTHER  THOUGHTS  AND 
COMMENTS,  ETC.,  ETC. 

"  Some  have  too  much,  yet  still  they  crave, 
They  are  but  poor,  though  much  they  have ; 
They  poor,  I  rich  ;  they  beg,  I  give  ; 
They  lack,  I  lend  ;   they  pine,  I  live." 

.  .  We  speak  the  truth  when  we  say  that 

Growing  Purity.  ^^^^  ^^.^  exceedingly  glad  (delighted)  to 
state  here  what  we  know  to  be  true  regarding  the  grozuing 
purity  of  journalism.  We  have  not  in  any  manner  courted 
the  favor  of  any  particular  class  or  persons  in  writing  this 
volume.  We  treated  the  subject  of  the  labor  trouble,  capital, 
tariff,  taxation,  immigration,  etc.,  from  well  established  data 
and  in  keeping  with  our  understanding,  regardless  of  fear 
or  favor ;  and  now,  as  we  are  about  to  reach  the  end  of  our 
deliberations,  we  are  not  inclined  to  change  tactics  and 
break  our  motto,  which  we  still  hold  to  be  our  governing 
principle,  as  Polonius  says  in  his  address  to  his  son,  Larites  : 

' '  This  above  all :  to  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  night  the  day,* 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

It  cannot  be  successfully  shown  that  journalism  is  not 
very  perceptibly  growing  in  purity  in  the  general  moral 
tone,  both  in  the  secular  work  and  more  especially  in 
politics.  The  editors  are  growing  older  and  see  things  in  a 
different  light.  For  some  time  after  the  war  politics  was  irt 
a  greater  state  of  agitation  than  for  many  years,  and  there 
were  many  opportunities  for  a  live  newspaper.  Then  the 
professions  were  well  filled ;  in  fact,  crowded,  and  this, 
turned  the  attention  of  many  a  young  man  just  home  from 


194  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

college  to  journalism.  Sensational  publications  flourished 
and  some  of  the  old  and  established  newspapers  unwillingly 
gave  way  to  sensational  matter  in  order  to  keep  together. 
However,  soon  the  people,  and  especially  the  educators, 
brought  about  a  grand  reform  in  this  particular  and  the 
moral  tone  of  the  "public  press"  is  on  a  much  higher  plane 
than  for  many  years  and  still  moving  upward.  It  has  been 
learned  by  quite  a  large  number  of  journalists  of  this  coun- 
try that  truth  is  much  cheaper  than  false  publications. 
Some  learned  this  fact  by  paying  a  high  price  for  the  les- 
sons they  learned.  Moreover,  there  is  nothing  clever  in  a 
lie;  chivalry,  patriotism,  manhood,  all,  in  fact,  that  makes 
up  a  man  is  sacrificed  in  a  newspaper  simply,  and  for  a  few 
dollars  publish  sensational  articles,  and  often  slanderous  in 
character.  Often,  and  especially  has  this  been  the  case 
during  hotly-contested  political  campaigns,  and  to  such  an 
extent  had  this  evil  grown  that  the  press  lost  much  of  its 
influence  among  the  people,  so  that  in  localities,  to  our  cer- 
tain knowledge,  the  papers  were  a  dead  letter  in  so  far  as 
moulding  the  sentiment  of  the  people  was  concerned. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  press  is  a  power  in  the  land 
for  good  or  for  evil.  There  never  was  a  time  since  the  dis- 
covery of  the  printing  press  when  there  was  such  a  vast 
number  of  publications,  periodicals,  dailies,  weeklies,  month- 
lies, magazines,  etc.,  as  at  the  present  and  they  are  steadily 
on  the  increase.  This  exemplifies  two  strong  points  in  the 
social  movements  of  our  people :  first,  that  there  is  a  great 
desire  for  information,  to  keep  up  with  the  progress  of  the 
times,  and  second,  that  there  is  going  on  a  mental  warfare, 
contending  for  supremacy  in  the  realm  of  the  intellectual, 
to  which  we  had  occasion  to  refer  before  in  this  volume. 

It  is  becoming  every  day  more  apparent  that  the  public 
press  is  instrumental  to  a  great  degree  in  moulding  or  di- 
recting the  mind  of  the  readers  of  current  publications, 
newspapers,  magazines,  etc.,  and  hence  it  can  scarcely  be 
otherwise  than  that  the  managing  editors  are  beginning  to 
feel  a  responsibility  not  hitherto  realized  by  them. 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  195 

It  may  be  still  said,  however,  that  there  is  much  room  for 
improvement  in  regard  to  the  clean  and  high  tone  moral  atti- 
tude of  the  ordinary  newspaper.  There  are  still  many  and 
able  journalists  who  claim  that  the  ordinary  readers  must 
have  things  dished  up  to  them  in  the  form  of  sensation,  and 
the  more  speak-easy  news  the  better  will  their  paper  be  ap- 
preciated. Some  base  their  success  entirely  on  this  feature 
being  the  most  prominent  in  their  publications  ;  that  the 
journalist,  to  be  a  success,  must  give  to  the  people  what 
they  want,  for  some  one  will  follow  this  course  and  make 
money,  while  those  who  take  a  high  standard  go  to  the  wall. 
The  dealer  in  spirituous  drinks  argues  from  the  same  point 
of  view,  that  some  one  will  suppress  all  moral  sense  and 
enter  upon  the  traf&c  of  liquors,  for  if  he  does  not  some  one 
will,  and  why  not  make  that  money.  This  is  not  a  tenable 
position,  since  all  will  have  to  settle  moral  actions  with 
their  own  consciences ;  and,  moreover,  if  our  editors  pander 
to  the  taste  and  idiosyncrasies  of  their  readers,  then,  in  that 
case,  in  place  of  being  a  leader  of  their  readers,  they  are  fol- 
lowers. Instead  of  leading  the  blind  they  themselves  are 
led  by  the  blind. 

COLONIAL   DAYS. 

"I  only  pointed  out  the  paths  that  lead 
The  panting  youth  to  steep  Parnassus'  head, 
And  showed  the  tuneful  Muses  from  afar, 
Mixed  in  a  solemn  choir  and  dancing  there." 

As  in  the  earlier  days  of  our  nation,  those 
Colonists.  ^^^  colonized  and  settled  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  country,  lived  in  harmony  together,  worked  for  one 
common  interest,  developed  the  soil,  built  pleasant  homes 
and  many  grew  up  families  with  an  inheritance  that  done 
honorable  service  in  the  state  as  men  of  giant  intellect,  to 
whom  we  look  back  with  pride  ;  so  may  even  now  colonies 
form  and  settle  on  our  western  land,  develop  the  country, 
keep  close  to  mother  earth,  receive  the  strength,  brain  and 
sinew-building  material  into  their  blood  from  the  first  crops 


196  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

of  the  new-made  farms,  unworn  soil,  and  grow  to  pliysical 
and  mental  greatness.  The  great  men  of  our  new  states 
and  territories  will  not  be  the  great  money  magnates  of  the 
day,  but  those  who  now  cultivate  their  new  lands  and  cre- 
ate ways  of  communication,  develop  the  country,  as  those  of 
the  earlier  colonies,  will  rise  to  honor  and  fullness  of  enjoy- 
ment of  the  works  of  their  own  labor. 

By  colonizing  the  better  element  of  our  own  people,  who 
seek  for  homes  in  the  west,  and  especially  foreign  immigrants, 
money  will  be  saved  and  made.  Colonization  means  suc- 
cess. Why  spend  your  best  days  in  cities  and  die  prema- 
turely for  want  of  pure  air?  Colonize  the  immigrants ;  it  is 
the  best  thing  for  them  to  do ;  it  is  the  best  thing  the  gov- 
ernment can  do  for  the  country.  By  colonizing  society  can 
form  at  once.  They  can  have  schools,  colleges,  churches, 
public  lecture  halls,  and  in  a  few  years  all  will  be  in  a  pros- 
perous condition,  with  friends  and  neighbors  altogether, 
enjoying  an  outlook  that  never  can  be  realized  in  our  large 
cities.  Here  lies  the  open  sea  through  which  many  of  our 
wage-workers  of  America  may  sail  their  little  bark  on  to 
fortune,  at  least  to  a  home  and  independence. 

The  greatest  reward  will  come  to  those  men  who  develop 
manufactories,  start  commercial  enterprises,  and  the  farmer 
who  develops  the  resources  of  the  country.  The  thousands 
of  early  pioneers  will  build  up  solid  fabrics  for  future  gener- 
ations. They  will  leave  histories  and  solid  monuments  of 
their  life  work.  The  Bentons,  the  Freemonts  and  the  Car- 
sons,  aided  by  the  honest  farmer,  intelligent  teacher,  wise 
doctor  and  skilled  mechanic  and  the  good  pioneers'  wives 
and  mothers,  will  make  the  wilderness  bloom  like  a  rose 
garden. 

"  Let  us  go  forth  and  resolutely  dare 

With  sweat  of  brow  to  toil  our  little  day, 

And  if  a  tear  fall  on  the  task  of  care 

In  memory  of  those  spring  hours  passed  away, 

Brush  it  not  by  ! 

Our  hearts  to  God  !  to  brother  men 

And  labor,  blessing,  prayer,  and  to  these  a  sign  !  " 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  I97 

ACTS  OF  INJUSTICE. 

"  Some  say  that  the  age  of  chivalry  is  past.  The  age  of  chivalry  is 
never  past  as  long  as  there  is  a  wrong  unredressed  on  earth,  and  a  man 
or  woman  left  to  say  :  I  will  redress  that  wrong  or  spend  ?nv  life  in  the 
aitevipi." 

,,       ,    ,       _        ,      ,  There  is  notliingf  so    sfalliuof,   so 

Hard  to  Overlook.     ,.^  ,        x.    a  ^  i    ? 

bitter  and  so  hard  to    overlook   as 

acts  of  injustice.  The  first  effect  it  has  on  the  mind  is  a 
feeling  of  resentment.  The  severest  side  of  human  nature 
is  called  forth.  Revenge  is  one  of  its  products.  It  is  true 
that  the  better  class,  w^ho  love  law  and  order,  suppress  feel- 
ings of  revenge,  but  this  is  not  always  done.  Injustice  in- 
cites mob-law  violence.  No  one  who  values  self-interest, 
and  his  neighbors  as  well,  would  be  guilty  of  acts  of  injus- 
tice. Retribution  will  come  sooner  or  later.  Hence  the  sen- 
timent was  fittingly  spoken,  "  Woe  be  unto  him  through 
whom  offense  cometh."  Moreover  it  never  pays  to  be  un- 
just. We  quote  the  following  editorial  from  one  of  our 
daily  papers  in  exemplification  of  what  we  have  stated  : 

"  Tennessee  has  paid  dear  for  the  misplaced  economy  of  its  Legisla- 
ture in  insisting  a  year  ago  on  convict  labor  because  it  was  cheap. 
There  is  nothing  so  dear  as  injustice  ;  and  farming  out  convict  labor  in 
convict  camp  is  organized  injustice  both  to  free  labor  and  to  the  con- 
victs." 

Injustice  is  like  violence  in  personal  encounter  when  di- 
rected with  intent  to  do  bodily  harm.  It  places  a  person 
against  whom  it  is  intended  in  a  position  of  self-defense. 
Those  who  act  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  inaugurate 
great  strife  and  go  as  far  as  to  rebel,  destroy  property,  shed 
blood  and  otherwise  commit  lawless  acts.  Acts  of  injustice, 
whether  on  the  part  of  the  State,  or  individuals,  or  corpora- 
tions, may  be  within  the  perview  of  the  law,  and  those  who 
come  under  its  lash  cannot,  therefore,  find  redress  in  law 
until  the  law  is  repealed  and  a  more  just  law  is  enacted  by 
the  State.  So  long,  then,  as  we  have  laws  not  strictly  equi- 
table may  we  expect  strikes  and  insurrections.  *A  free  man 
with  a  highly  individualized  character  and  a  keen  feeling 
for  justice,  will  not  bear  very  long  a  condition  which  he 


jgS  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

feels  is  robbing  liim  of  what  is  dear  to  him  in  the  enjoyment 
of  life.  It  is  true  all  people  cannot  be  made  to  see  alike, 
3^et  there  is  a  sense  of  justice  possessed  by  the  general  pub- 
lic which  will  render  a  just  verdict,  and  this  should  not  be 
ignored  /oo  long  or  trouble  is  not  far  off.  Public  sentiment 
ma}^  be  changed,  but  this  can  only  be  done  by  educating  the 
people  to  a  point  of  correct  understanding.  To  succeed  in 
this  all  arguments  must  carry  with  them  those  self-evident 
truths  which  appeal  at  once  to  the  man's  sense  of  right,  and 
laws  enacted  on  this  basis  will  stand  and  be  respected  by  the 
nation.  IMoreover,  unjust  laws  at  last  will  only  bring  about 
contention  and  an  unsettled  state  of  affairs,  liable  to  end  in 
costly  means  of  correction,  if  not  in  war. 

Injustice  never  pays.  Individuals  in  society  who  are  dis- 
posed to  be  unjust  toward  their  fellow-men  will  reap  the 
fruit  of  their  own  acts  and  bring  upon  themselves  often 
suffering  and  loss  of  mone}^ 

The  same  rules  that  will  conduct  an  even  and  successful 
business  in  private  life  will  also  apply  to  the  government  of 
the  great  Republic  and  State. 

—    ,  ,,       ,^.    «  ,    ^.  ,  Man,  throuofh  his  perceptive 

Get  on  the  Right  Side.   .      ,,. '      ,     *  •    \^ 

^  faculties,  at  once  recognizes  the 

truth.  He  admits  the  truth  without  argument.  He  may 
not  adopt  it ;  his  moral  courage  fails  him.  He  may  have  to 
let  go  of  some  pet  theory  or  belief  (though  not  true),  which 
is  too  much  for  his  untrained  moral  nature.  It  is  not  that 
man  does  not  perceive  the  truth,  but  he  fails  in  surmounting 
obstacles  that  keep  him  from  declaring  himself  on  the  side 
of  truth.  To  conquer  these  requires  vigilance,  self-abnega- 
tion, deliberation  and  determination  to  get  on  tJic  right  side. 
Everything  in  man's  environment  represents  truth,  facts  ; 
he  himself  is  a  fact.  The  genius  that  makes  him  what  he 
is,  is  a  fact.  Truth  is  part  of  man,  and  nothing  brings 
greater  reassuring  satisfaction  to  his  mind  than  truth. 
Then  get  on  the  right  side,  if  happiness  is  the  goal.  Sub- 
due the  grosser  nature,  divest  yourself  of  all  selfishness.  As 
Wm.  H.  Hunt  says,  "He  never  knew  a  person  yet  who  was 
unselfish  but  made  life  a  success."  Selfishness — s^^lfish 
motives — disqualifies  a  person  to  receive  the  truth. 

Under  all  conditions  of  life,  stand  up  tor  the  right. 

Let  come  what  will,  defend  your  own  with  all  your  might. 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  199 

NI/NETEEN  MU/NDRED  \ND  NI/\ETY=NINE. 

PERPETUATION  OF  THE  NEW  NATION  ;  A  NEW  IDEA  APPLIED ; 
ALL  OF  US  ARE  NEIGHBORS;  HAND  IN  HAND  WE  KEEP 
MARCHING  ON  ;  THE  INTEREST  OF  ONE  COMMON  BROTH- 
ERHOOD ;   air-motor;  gravitation  a  motor  force; 

A   HARMONY  THAT   BINDS,    ETC.,    ETC. 

"  He  who  can  taste  without  allay 
The  present  pleasure  of  the  day, 
Should  with  an  easy,  cheerful  smile 
The  bitterness  of  life  beguile, — 
Should  all  of  future  care  detest, 
For  7iothing  is  completely  blest. ' ' 

A   VISION   AND   STORY. 

A    r-^  i_      ^   T-  •  During  the  winter  of  1 88  s 

A  Steamboat  Excursion.  ,^        ,    ,     .        ^    ^ 

we    made    a    lecturing    tour 

through  the  southern  states.  We  visited  only  the  most 
prominent  cities,  delivering  popular  lectures,  some  sixty  in 
number,  on  the  Principles  of  Scie^itific  Livi7ig.  During  our 
sojourn  w^e  made  many  acquaintances  and  not  a  few  warm 
friends,  learning  much  about  the  country  and  the  customs 
and  character  of  a  people  who,  in  due  time,  will  become 
prominent  in  the  building  up  of  a  New  Nation,  on  principles 
of  Reform,  and  eventually,  in  the  years  to  come,  furnish 
many  of  the  ligatures  which  will  bind  together  the  filaments 
of  our  Union  and  make  it  a  united  family.  • 

We  tarried  about  a  fortnight  in  the  city  of  Mobile, 
Alabama.  During  our  stay  in  this  city  we  took  great 
pleasure  in  visiting  places  of  local  and  historic  interest  in 
and  about  the  place. 

One  beautiful  day  in  the  month  of  April,  .when  here 
already  the  full  floodtide  of  summer  had  covered  hill  and 
dale  with  its  magical  charms,  arrangements  had  been  made 
by  the  municipal  officers  of  the  city  to  give  the  stranger 
visitors  from  the  North  in  some  way  a  public  recognition. 
There  were  many  visitors  at  the  time,  a  large  number  of 
them  came  from   the  North  to  exchange  the  chilling  blasts 


200  RANDOM   THOUGHTS. 

of  tlieir  bleak  hills  for  the  balmy  zephyrs  of  the  South  ; 

some  to  find  a  respite  from  threatening  disease,  and  others 

simply  seeking  pleasure  in  new   fields, — but  all   bent   on 

enjoying  the  mild  climate. 

^  ^  ,,_  An  excursion   down   Mobile 

Down  to  Deep  Water.  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  p^„. 

posed — taking  in  Fort  Morgan  and  Dauphin  Island,  a  good 
feast  of  plump  oysters,  and  a  good  time  altogether.  We 
embarked  on  a  beautiful  steamer  early  in  the  morning, 
when  the  fragrance  of  the  orange  groves  scented  the  air, 
and  the  birds  were  singing  sweetly  in  the  magnolia 
branches.  Though  we  were  all  strangers  to  each  other, 
there  was  a  sameness  of  thought  and  desire  among  us  which 
made  us  feel  at  home  and  contented  in  each  other's  society 

We  had  an  excellent  band  of  music  on  board,  which  added 
much  to  our  enjoj^ment.  We  started  early  in  the  morning, 
while  the  dew  yet  glistened  in  tiny  globules  on  flower  and 
plant,  and  the  feathered  orchestra  sang  sweet  carols  in 
honor  of  the  new-born  day.  Our  early  start  gave  us  about 
three  hours'  time  for  rest  and  reverie  at  Fort  Morgan. 

As  the  day  advanced  the  weather  became  warmer,  and 
the  sunlight  glinting  brightly  on  every  dancing  wavelet, 
and  the  cooling  zephyrs  that  fanned  our  cheeks  made  the 
passage  very  enjoyable. 

Our  company  was  honored  with  the  presence  of  a  number 
of  notable  persons,  among  whom  were  Henr}^  Ward  Beecher, 
Carl  Shurz,  Judge  Carter,  of  Cincinnati ;  Mrs.  Carson,  of 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  others.  There  were  about  250  persons 
in  the  party,  every  one  of  them  desirous  of  getting  all  the 
pleasure  possible  out  of  the  day  and  the  trip. 

Some  of  us  were  looking  for  delicately-tinted  sea  shells, 
along  the  shore,  while  others  enjoyed  a  bath  in  Neptune's 
kingdom. 

For  some  reason,  undetected  and  unmeant  at  the  time,  we 
became  detached  from  the  rest  of  our  company,  sauntering 
aimlessly  down  the  beach.  While  thus  strolling  along 
we  were  attracted  by  an  object  in  the  distance  which  had 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  20r 

the    resemblance    of  an  Indian    Mound. 
Indian  Mound.    ^^^   elevation,  rising  perhaps    130   feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  was  located  but  a  short  distance  ' 
from  the  strand.      We  occupied  but  a  short  time  in  making 
the  ascent  on  a  reconnoitering  jaunt,  and  being  somewhat 
•exhausted  by  our  efforts,  it  required  but  little  persuasion  to 
induce  us  to  take  a  rest.      Timing  ourselves,  conscious  of 
having  three  hours  at  our  disposal  before  the  boat  returned, 
we  sought  the  pleasant  shade  of  a  magnolia  tree,  and  yield- 
ing to  the  soothing  influence  of  nature's  charms — we  fell 
into  a  pleasant  reverie.     The  sun  poured  down  his  hot  rays 
— the    shade    was    so    inviting  ;    the    insects     chirped    so 
dreamily  ;  the   fragrant  breezes  in  their  fitful  wanderings 
touched  our  heated  brow  so  coquettishly  like    the    gentle 
finger  touches  of  angels,  that  we  yielded  to  the   charm  of 
these    voluptuary  forces,   and  forgot  the  more    sordid  and 
vulgar  influences  and  surroundings  of  humdrum  life.      We 
had   a  dreamy  consciousness   of  having 
Humdrum  Life,  ^^^ndered  miles  away  from  our  compan- 
ions.    We  half  unconsciously   changed    our    position    and 
settled  down  on  a  mossy  bed,  leaned  our  back  against  a 
•cypress    tree,     through  whose   (now    hoary    and    tangled) 
branches  the  wild  winds  may  have  rioted  for  thousands  of 
years. 

The  prospect  before  us  was  entrancing.  The  mellowed 
sunlight  made  broad  lines  of  silver  and  gold  among  the 
emerald  sheen  of  the  foliage  of  surrounding  trees. 

All  around  us  was  still  and  silent  except  the  whispering 
of  the  breeze  that  played  amid  the  grass  and  the  branches 
of  overhanging  trees.  The  unfathomable  blue  ether 
stretched  overhead,  the  gossamer  clouds,  floating  lazily  over 
the  wide  expanse,  brought  to  our  mind  an  old-time  song  of 
which  this  is  a  part  we  never  forgot  : 

"  If  you  and  I  were  only  ghosts 

Cut  off  from  human  cares  and  pains, 
To  walk  together  day  and  night, 
Along  the  far  sidereal  plains." 


202  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

The  ocean  seemed  like  the  silvery  vail 
^  '   covering  the  bride-face  of  an  ethereal  god- 

dess. A  calm,  wonderful  radiance  came  over  the  hills  and 
plains  and  rested  in  magical  splendor  on  the  waters  beyond. 
The  wind\^  clouds,  now  and  then  mingling  like  haunting 
ghosts  among  the  lace-like  pinions  of  fairer  companions, 
crossing  the  blue  sky,  gave  to  the  far-off  woods  and  hills 
an  ever  changing  picture  of  light  and  shadow  and  grotesque 
shapes,  creating  new  landscapes  in  their  restless  Sittings. 
Thus  we  lay  as  if  in  an  enchanted  castle,  for  which  the 
horizon,  bending  down  on  every  side,  formed  the  tapestried 
walls.  One  white  sail  gleamed  alone  far  out  at  sea  like 
some  silvery  gull  forsaken  by  its  companions,  while  the 
white-capped  waves  danced  and  leaped  in  ceaseless  antics  to 
the  shore.  Far  away  the  mountains  stood  silent  and  grim 
as  Roman  sentinels  guarding  sea  and  plain. 

All  these  silent,  subtle  influences  worked  upon  our  senses 
with  a  syren's  charm  and  brought  us  a  respite  in  Young's 
"Tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep." 

It  came  opportunely ;  we  coveted  rest  after  many  days  of 
thought  and  labor  to  do  good  to  our  fellow-beings.  We 
were  as  by  one  intoxicated  breath  wafted  into  Dream- 
land^ losing  sight  of  the  stereot3'ped  formulas  of  society 
and  the  stale  formalities  of  every-day  life,  and  we  felt  like 
soaring  into  the  realms  of  What  is  to  come,  like  Columbus 

T       i.  /-I       tT    ij  i-u      Tii-     u    seeking  a  new   world. 

Lost  Our  Hold  on  the  World,  ^xr    i    ^  .    u 

We  lost  our   hold   on 

the  Present  and  soared  into  the  Future.  We  were  intoxi- 
cated— not  by  the  venal  cup  that  robs  the  senses,  but  by  the 
elixir  brewed  from  the  sunshine,  the  flowers,  the  bird  songs 
and  the  ozone  around  us  which,  while  it  incites  the  senses, 
elevates  the  mind  and  ennobles  the  soul. 

Whether  we  simply  enjoyed  the  natural  sequence  of  a 
day  dream  or  the  raptures  of  a  trance  we  cannot  tell,  but 
one  thing  we  know:  While  thus  engaged  we  were  forgetful 
of  all  ordinary  surroundings  and  wandered  in  new  realms 
we  never  trod  before,  entirely  taken  up  with  a  new  regime. 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  203 

Days  seemed  to  come  and  go  as  in  a  kaleidoscope,  ever  pre- 
senting new  and  beautiful  features  in  the  drama  of  life. 
Weeks,  months  and  years  lost  their  duration  gliding  on  like 
the  bubbles  on  a  stream  only  to  be  followed  by  others  until 
we  drifted  into  the  ages  to  come.  We  in  our  reverie,  always 
burdened  with  the  great  desire  to  make  the  world  better  and 
brighter,  looked  anxiously  ahead  for  changes  that  would 
—^.       __  realize    our    hopes.      And    while    thus 

^^^*  dreaming  and  gliding  down  the  stream 
of  Time,  smoothly,  but  still  rapidh'  losing  sight  of  the  cal- 
endar and  the  rythmic  measure  of  the  time,  we  struck  a 
mile  post  marked  1999  ;  we  had  drifted  in  our  reverie  or 
dream  more  than  a  hundred  years  ahead.  Here  we  halted, 
almost  bewildered  by  the  changes  we  saw  around  us.  How- 
ever, we  soon  met  with  people  and  were  saluted  in  a  friendly 
manner.  The  cities  and  the  rural  districts  seemed  very 
different  from  what  we  were  accustomed  to,  and  on  inquiry 
as  to  where  we  were  and  the  peculiarity  of  this  strange,  3'et 
beautiful,  land  we  were  told  that  it  was  simply  a  perpetua- 
tion of  the  ''''New  Nation^^  which  had  its  beginning  in  the 
"old;"  which  underwent  a  rapid  change  (metamorphosis) 
during  the  decline  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  was  now 
popularly  known  as  the  ''^Dreamland.'''' 

By  an  involuntary  impulse,  as  it  seemed  to  us,  we  wan- 
dered through  the  states  in  search  of  daias  of  interest,  and 
to  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  distinguishing  principles  of 
the  "  New  Nation."  The  people  seemed  happ}^ ;  had  a  fresh 
and  healthy  appearance.  Everybody  possessed  a  home  of 
their  own  and  this,  doubtless,  it  was  that  gave  all  an  ap- 
parent tone  of  independence,  and  yet  with  all  there  was  a 
neighborly  and  brotherly  feeling  which  pervaded  their  very 
being  ;  readily  discernable  to  eminate  (impulses)  from  an 
honest  heart.  Hand  in  hand,  as  it  seemed,  all  were  march- 
ing together  on  life's  high  road  of  progress. 

.        .  In  our  movements  we  met  with  an 

An  Old  Scientist.   ^^^^  gentleman,  who  proved  to  be  a 
well-known  scientist,  at  the  time  in  the  employment  of  the 


204  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

general  government.  He  was  under  orders,  with  his  at- 
tendants of  about  twenty  people  fully  equipped  for  an  ex- 
ploring expedition.  His  orders  were  to  explore  more  fully 
the  country  lying  southwest  of  Denver,  with  a  view  of  as- 
certaining the  possible  resources  of  minerals  ;  he  was  also  to 
extend  his  work  into  the  great  American  Desert  and  by 
his  knowledge  of  Chemistry  report  some  practical  method 
and  the  proximate  cost  (per  acre)  of  converting  the  sand 
into  rich  soil.  We  did  not  learn  the  process,  but  inferred 
from  his  remarks  that  his  first  object  was  to  sink  artesian 
wells  and  by  the  use  of  air-motors  pump  the  water  and  thus 
irrigate,  and  the  first  six  months  he  would  impregnate  the 
water  with  salt  to  be  followed  with  an  alkali.  He  said  that 
in  three  years  he  could  have  a  fine  producing  farm  and 
cheaper  than  to  make  a  farm  out  of  woodland.  We  had  no 
doubt  of  his  success,  the  only  point  is  to  know  how  and  suc- 
cess must  follow.  * 

Hidden  Treasures.  .^^'".  ^'^™''^  "^"  ^^''  "'"'  '"f'^ 
scientists  were  lu  constant  employ- 
ment of  the  government,  whose  special  function  or  business 
was  to  explore  and  experiment  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
country,  with  a  view  of  discovering  hidden  treasures  as  well 
as  to  discover  unknown  principles,  thus  find  practical 
methods  of  developing  the  resources  of  the  soil,  and 
especially  to  make  mining  more  practical,  easy,  safe  and 
profitable. 

.  We  saw  in  practical  operation,  in  mining  districts,  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  immense  electro-dynamos,  tlie  mo- 
tivity  of  which  was  derived  from  vast  air-motors  and  water- 
motors. 


*  When  it  once  becomes  a  necessity  that  the  Ne7v  Nation  will  be  too 
thickly  settled,  the  inventive  genius  will  find  but  little  trouble  in 
making  the  now  worthless  desert  habitable  and  fertile.  Skillfully 
constructed  air-motors,  pumping  water  into  standpipe-recervoirs.  and 
water-motors,  electro-dynamos — burning  the  sand,  the  admixtures  of 
cheap  chemicals,  such  as  salt,  alkali,  etc.,  with  artificial  rain  i)ro(lucing 
means — will  start  soil-building,  and  nature  will  do  the  rest. 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  205 

The  deepest  mines  are  lighted  with  electricity.  Drills 
and  other  macliiuery  used  in  the  mines  are  run  by  the  use 
of  compressed  air.  Gold  and  other  valuable  metals  are 
readily  extracted  from  the  earth  and  rock  (caused  to 
precipitate)  in  large  quantities  by  heavy  electric  currents 
(a  cheap  process)  being  applied  according  to  newly  discov- 
ered principles.  Gold  is  obtained  from  the  bottom  of  rivers, 
flowing  through  gold-producing  districts  in  California,  by 
means  of  strong  electric  currents.  Thus  gold  and  silver 
and  other  valuable  metals  are  obtained  in  an  expeditious 
manner  never  known  before.  Truly  the  "New  Nation  "  has 
grown  far  away  from  the  "  old  "  ;  we  became  restless,  and 
almost  over  anxious  to  extend  our  observation  into  other 
departments,  which  we  were  not  only  permitted  to  do,  but 
were  invited  to  do  so,  the  people  being  ready  and  willing 
at  all  times,  in  the  most  pleasing  way,  to  explain  and  answer 
all  inquiries. 

One  of  the  most  ingeneous 
Air  and  Water-Motors.  ^^^trivances  that  attracted  out 
attention  in  vogue  in  "Dreamland"  is  artesian  wells. 
Air-motors  are  used  to  sink  the  well,  and  afterwards 
pump  the  water  into  large  standpipe-reservoirs.  Water- 
motors  are  run  by  the  water  from  these  reservoirs  by  means  of 
which  machines  on  a  small  scale  are  readily  made  available. 
Thus  the  farmer  threshes  his  grain,  cuts  straw,  grinds  feed, 
and  besides  runs  an  electro-dynamo,  lights  and  warms  the 
house,  which  also  serves  for  cooking  purposes,  runs  sewing- 
machines,  etc.,  all  at  a  mere  nominal  expense,  save  the 
first  investment  The  waste  water  from  the  water-motor  is 
utilized  for  watering  the  stock  and  irrigating  purposes  for 
the  garden  and  the  farm  as  it  is  needed.  These  contri- 
vances are  in  extensive  use  throughout  the  western  states, 
especially  on  the  western  prairies.  Also  similar  motors 
are  in  use  in  running  the  machinery  of  many  different 
kinds  of  manufactories  in  small  towns,  and  street  cars  on  the 
trolley  order  are  in  use  between  towns,  and  thus  the  whole 
country  is  connected  by  means  of  easy  and  rapid  transit,  the 


2o6  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

motive  power  of  which  is  derived  from  air  and  water-motors, 

cheap,  practicable  and  durable.     The  coaches  are  made  of 

aluminum  and  papier-mache,  hence  have  the  advantage  of 

lightness  as  well  as  strength, 

^^    ,    ,  ,      _      ^  A  noteworthy  feature  that 

Another  Notable  Feature.     ^      ,  u  •        r 

struck  us  as  being  of  great 

advantage  to  husbandry   in   this    beautiful   "Dreamland" 

is    a   portable  fence  in  use,  by  which  means  pasture  lots 

are  made  available  at   different  seasons   of  the   year  and 

different  parts  of  the  farm  without  encumbering  the  land, 

as   it  was  with  the  inartistic  rail  fence  in  the   old  nation. 

This  is  a  great  desideratum,  as  animals  are  not  permitted  to 

run  at  large,  and  yet  health  laws  require  that  they  should 

have  the  open  air  as  much  as  possible.     This  fence  is  made 

of  galvanized  sheet-wire,  the  openings  about   four  inches 

(square)  apart  and  about  five  feet  high.      At  a  distance  of  a 

rod  apart  is  an  upright  bar  of  iron,  one-quarter  by  one  and 

one-half  inches,  and  an  arm  from  each  of  these  bars  can  be 

thrown  out  at  a  right  angle  and  fastened  in  the  ground  with 

an  iron  peg.     Thus  any  part  of  the  land,  on  a  larger  or 

smaller  scale,  is  made  available  for  the  temporar}'-  liberty 

to  animals  to  pasture  in  the  field,  and  also  to  keep  them 

separated,    if  it  is  so  desired.     This  fence  is  artistic  and 

inexpensive  and  can  readily  be  moved  by  rolling  it  upon  a 

windlass,  which  is  on    two   wheels,    to  which    a   horse   is 

hitched,  and  in  two  hours  a  fence  around  a  six  or  ten-acre 

lot  is  taken  up  and  put  down  again. 

^,      -J.    ,  The  public  highway  is  smooth,  lasting 

^  ^'   and  artistic  ;  macadamized  with  a  cheap 

material  made  by  mixing  the  proper  equivalents  of  earth, 

sand,   lime,  cement  and  asphaltuni,  which  readily  become 

as  solid  as  rock.     The  highways  thus  made  extended  all 

over  "  Dreamland,"  like  walks  in  a  park.     There  are  no 

heavy  vehicles,   for  reason  there  is  no  heavy  freight  to  be 

moved.     Tricycles   and   bicycles    are   extensively    in    use, 

both  by  the  old  and  the  young.     Carriages  drawn  by  horses 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  207 

are  still  in  vogue,  but  ordinary  driving  does  not  effect  the 
roads  in  the  least. 

The  race-course  for  speeding  horses  has  reached  a  high 
state  of  perfection.  We  were  shown  a  fine  trotter,  owned  by 
a  lady  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  who  had  a  record  of  one  minute 
and  a  half,  six  and  three-quarters  seconds.  Horseback  riding 
is  still  fine  sport.  Heavy  road  wagons  have  gone  out  of  use, 
for  there  is  no  heavy  freight  to  be  moved.  The  leading  mo- 
tor force  is  air,  water  and  electricity.  The  highways  are  like 
garden  walks,  beset  on  either  side  with  evergreen  and  flower- 
ing plants,  and  there  are  walks  for  pedestrians.  The  whole 
country  has  the  appearance  of  one  grand  garden  scene. 

In  "Dreamland"  it  seems,  from  the 
Garden  Homes,  gj-^ndeur  and  beauty  of  the  rural  environ- 
ment, that  every  husbandman  makes  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening  a  special  study.  The  fields  are  beautifully  laid 
out.  Farms  are  worked  with  more  method  and  care.  The 
science  of  the  chemistry  of  the  soil  is  a  study,  and  applied 
with  a  thoroughness  that  as  the  soil  exhausts  in  the  phos- 
phates is  soon  reclaimed  by  proper  fertilizers,  and  thus  the 
average  yield  is  far  greater  under  the  management  of  the 
New  Nation  than  the  "  old "  was  capable  of  A  beautiful 
garden  ho7ne  is  appreciated  more  than  all  other  wealth,  ex- 
emplifying the  fact  that  people  of  the  "  New  Nation  "  have 
got  at  least  some  distance  away  from  the  grosser,  heavier 
weights  of  former  times. 

The  architectural  science  of  dwellings,  bams  and  the 
commonest  outhouses  have  the  appearance  of  the  master's 
hand,  rule,  method,  design  and  evident  studiousness,  com- 
bining ancient  and  modern  principles  of  embellishment,  re- 
flecting on  every  hand  the  beautiful ;  showing  a  higher 
mental  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  "Dreamland"  than 
ever  before  attained  by  man.  The  era  of  the  intellectual 
rule^  so  long  in  nature's  gestating  womb  of  evolution,  is  here 
fully  inaugurated. 

The  most  abundant  element 
Amazingly  Wonderful.   .^      ^^^,3     environment     has 


208  RANDOM   THOUGHTS. 

hitherto  been  utilized,  the  least  of  all,  by  man  in  compelling 
it  to  work  for  him.  We  refer  to  atmosphere  or  wind.  As 
a  source  of  motivity  the  air  has  had  a  good  long  rest,  but  not 
so  now,  for  in  the  New  Nation  it  has  been  harnessed  in  such 
a  skillful  manner  that  the  wind  is  made  to  do  work  in  many 
departments  of  the  industrial  art,  that  the  expensive  and 
grosser  methods  in  use  in  the  old  nation  are  entirely  obso- 
lete. 

The  main  points  that  will  be  of  great  interest  to  scientists 
we  will  take  up  again  further  on  and  explain  some  of  the 
more  intricate  parts  which  made  air  available  as  a  motor 
force.  In  our  rambles  through  "  Dreamland  "  we  learned 
much,  and  only  hope  that  we  may  some  time  meet  each 
other  there,  should  any  of  us  be  so  fortunate  as  to  be  per- 
mitted to  make  a  trip  to  that  country. 

_    .      ^.  ^  There  are  iust  as    many   possible 

Among  Scientists.  ^.  .  ^.  .  •^^      \.  ^ 

^  things  as  there  are  impossibles,  but 

there  are  possible  things  enough  to  keep  us  in  a  state  of 

wonderment  all  the  time,  for  nature  is,  doubtless,  unlimited 

in  mysteries,  and  every  time  a  new  discovery  is  made  it  does 

not  exhaust  or  contract  the  realm  of  undiscovered  principles, 

but  simply  serves  as  a  stepping-stone  to  enable  mankind  to 

make  other  discoveries. 

Furthermore,  it  is  a  sentiment  or  belief  among  scientists 

that  scientific    discovery  does  not  only  imply  progress  in 

physics,  but  it  also  gives  an  impetus  to  mental,  moral  and 

social  progress.     The  moral  and  social  go  hand  in  hand  with 

science.      The  moral  and  social  condition  of  societ}^,  in  the 

New  Nation^  is  just  as  far  in  advance  of  the   old   as   the 

system  of  government,  and  the  science  of  machinery,  wants 

of  the  people,  supply  and  demand  ;  the  wonderful  harmony 

of  society  is  advanced  so  that  no  one  can  be  found  in  all 

"Dreamland"  who  longs  to  go  back  to  the  regime  of  the 

"old  nation." 

_,,       ^       .  ,      ,  We   are    amazed  to  learn    what  gfreat 

The  President.    ,  ,         ^  ,         ,        •     ^^      a-  • 

changes  have   taken  place  in  the  attairs 

of  the  general  goveniiuent.      The  president  is  elected  for 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  209 

eight  years^  and  by  the  popular  vote.  The  electoral  college 
is  entirely  abandoned.  Perfect  freedom  of  speech  pre- 
vails all  over  "Dreamland."  The  "Printing  Press"  is 
revered  as  the  great  exponent  of  the  sentiment  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  the  honor  of  the  "  Press,"  be  it  said,  that  the 
moral  plane  to  which  the  "Press"  has  reached,  in  the  New 
Nation,,  to  such  a  high  order,  that  in  all  the  world's  history 
there  never  was  a  time  when,  the  "  Press  "  had  such  power, 
and  it  may  be  amazing  to  think  that  the  tendency  is  still  to 
a  loftier  plane.  It  seems  especially  amazing  when  we  con- 
template the  comparison,  that  only  a  little  over  a  hundred 
years  ago,  in  the  old  nation,  the  moral  status  of  journalism 
had  almost  fallen  into  utter  disregard  of  leading  mankind 
to  a  loftier  plane  of  moral  practice. 

To  our  surprise  throughout  all  "  Dream- 
No  Cyclones.   ^^^^„    ^^^^^   ^^^   ^^   ^^^-^1    cyclones,    no 

"lockouts,"  or  "strikes,"  and  none  are  expected  or  predicted. 
The  croakers  and  civil  war  prophets  died  with  the  "old  na- 
tion." There  are  no  trusts  or  "corners"  in  commerce,  no 
monopolies,  no  combines  ;  great  corporations  and  all  mon- 
strosities in  the  entire  social  systems  gradually  faded  out  of 
existence  as  the  new  system  of  government  came  into  power. 
Wage-earners  share  in  the  profits  of  capital,  and  the  own- 
ership of  their  own  labor  and  its  profits  is  undisputed. 
Every  state  has  adopted  a  legal  system  of  compulsory  arbi- 
tration. There  are  few  labor  disputes.  The  Labor  Bureau 
adjusts  in  an  equitable  way  wages  and  settles  all  matters 
that  are  not  running  smoothly  of  themselves.  Labor  riots, 
bread  riots,  strikes,  lockouts,  insurrections,  etc.,  all  these 
things  and  curious  circumstances  are  related  by  the  older 
people  in  the  form  of  stories,  and  as  historic  events  of  a 
people  having  lived  in  the  eighteenth  century  when  (as  they 
believe)  people  were  yet  in  a  semi-civilized  state. 

,   ^     Tc        I'^c    tariff   question   is 
state  Elections  and  Tariff,  ^^j;^^,^  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^j 

of  a  national  Customs  Bureau,  the  chairman  of  which  is  a 
member  of  the  cabinet.     The  tariff  question  is,  therefore, 


2IO  RANDOM   THOUGHTS. 

out  of  politics.     During  political  campaigns  customs  duty- 
is  not  broached  at  all  by  the  speakers. 

The  different  states  elect  their  governors  for  the  term 
of  three  years.  Legislative  enactments  are  comparatively- 
few.  The  Legislature  assembles  every  two  years  only,  and 
both  the  members  of  the  State  Legislature  and  members  of 
Congress  receive  their  regular  pa}'-  throughout  the  term 
for  which  they  are  elected  whether  in  session  or  not. 

This  we  saw  was  a  good  feature  in  the  S3'stem  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  New  Nation^  which,  doubtless,  has  the  effect 
of  keeping  many  a  legislator,  as  well  as  members  of  Con- 
gress, from  trying  to  make  money  by  crooked  turns,  for  the 
commonwealth  is  willing  to  pay  officers  of  the  law,  especially  ■ 
the  law  makers,  zvell  for  their  service. 

A  protective  tariff  is  in  vogue,  which  gives  to  the  wage- 
earners,  as  well  as  the  people  in  general,  that  protection  of 
home  interests  to  that  extent  and  end  that  the  markets  of 
commodities  of  every  description  are  strictly  regulated  by 
supply  and  demand.  There  seems  to  exist  an  equity  in  deal- 
ing among  the  people  that  bartering  and  competition  are  in  a 
manner  so  closely  allied  to  the  "golden  rule"  that  courts  of 
arbitration  are  sought  rather  than  the  courts  of  the  law. 
The  law  cases,  where  the  disputes  rise  to  that  pitch  requiring 
or  forcing  trial  by  court,  are  as  a  rule  very  few,  proving  the 
highly  advanced  state  of  society  in  the  "  New  Nation." 

^         .      ^   ,.,.  We   were   pleased    to  learn    that 

No  Sex  in  Politics.  i       ^  •    r  n        i 

universal  suffrage  is  m  full  work- 
ing order  in  "  Dreamland."  Woman  is  recognized  as  a 
citizen  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term.  She  is  not  looked 
upon  as  a  helpmate  alone,  but  as  a  co-partner  in  the  famil}^, 
state  and  business.  There  is  no  sex  in  politics.  Woman 
brings  a  sort  of  redeeming  quality  of  character  with  her, 
that  it  has  a  purifying  effect  on  politics,  that  campaigns 
are  conducted  on  a  purer  and  higher  moral  basis  than  ever 
known  under  the  management  of  the  "old  government."  A 
woman  is  Secretary  of  State,  and,  of  course,  a  member  of 
the  Cabinet. 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  211 

Tlie  educational  system  in  vogue  in 
Civic  Education.  ^^^  u^^^  nation''  is  continued,  in  as 
far  as  we  could  learn,  only  perfected.  The  University  Ex- 
tension system  of  educating  tlie  citizen  is  in  working  per- 
fection. There  are  public  lecture  halls^  built  for  that  pur- 
pose, in  every  voting  precinct.  The  general  government  is 
thoroughly  secularized. 

We  are  informed  regarding  the  different  religious  denomi- 
nations that  there  exists  the  fullest  liberty  and  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  rights  of  conscience,  each  according  to  inalien- 
able laws,  fully  guaranteed  to  all  believers  in  the  ^''New 
Nation  "  as  was  the  case  in  the  old  nation.  There  exists 
astonishing  harmony  and  neighborly  feeling  among  the 
people.  This  state  of  affairs  is  accounted  for  on  the  ground 
of  the  thoroughly  secular  government.  The  total  non- 
recognition  of  (religious)  denominational  differences  (and 
yet  all  legislation  gives  support  to  all  alike)  is,  doubtless, 
the  basis  of  all  successful  government  where  the  church  has 
been  divorced  from  the  state. 

The  public  school  system  is  about  the  same  as  under  the 
"  Old  National'  only  the  teachers  are  given  four  months'  va- 
cation and  their  pay  goes  on  the  same  as  if  school  was  keep- 
ing, and  this  seems  to  us  the  right  and  just  thing  to  do. 
This  enables  our  teacher  to  attend  the  Normal  College  for 
personal  improvement.  The  Sabbath  day  is  universally 
observed  as  a  day  of  rest. 

The   marriage   and  divorce   laws 
Many  New  Points.   ^^^  ^^-^^^^  throughout  the  Union. 

There  exists  nowhere  in  the  states  of  the  ^'- New  Nation'' 
capital  punishment.  Capital  crime  is  rarely  perpetrated, 
as  also  crime  of  any  sort  is  far  less  than  in  the  old  nation. 
Trials  by  jury  in  all  criminal  cases  have  been  abrogated  for 
many  years,  but  are  tried  b}'  judges  of  the  law.  State's 
prisons  are  changed  largely  into  reformatory  institutions 
rather  than  places  of  punishment.  Insanity  and  disease  have 
decreased  in  ratio  in  the  ''Nezu  Nation^'  largely  by  reason  of 
greater  attention  being  given  to  the  observance  of  the  rules 


212  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

of  health  and  sanitary  laws  than  ever  before,  hence,  as  we 
learned  the  facts,  institutions  for  the  indigent  are  few  in  the 
land. 

The  eight-hour  system  is  in  vogue  everywhere  in  the 
''''New  Nation^''''  and  people  enjoy  themselves,  both  ^^^  by 
the  extension  of  means  of  education,  and  ^^'  by  improved  so- 
cial organizations.  Of  secret  societies  there  are  few,  and 
organizations  having  for  their  object,  as  in  the  old  nation^ 
self-preservation  and  protection  in  personal  interest  against 
organized  capital,  gradually  became  metamorphosed  into  so- 
cial institutions  for  self-improvement  in  acquiring  personal 
accomplishments,  fitting  personal  qualities  for  continuing  in 
the  New  Nation.  The  capitalist  and  the  wealthy  readily 
foresaw  that  pauperism  would  not  pay  ;  that  such  a  condi- 
tion as  an  element  appended  to  society  was  evidence  of  a 
wrong  system  of  government,  and  they  joined  the  great 
phalanx  of  political  reform,  that  it  is  better  for  all,  and  the 
capitalist  in  particular,  to  dwell  in  a  land  where  every  man 
is  a  gentleman  and  every  woman  a  lady. 

.         XT    4.-  But  little  attention  is  given  to  for- 

°  *   eign  countries.     The  New  Nation  is 

at  peace  with  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. '''  The  govern- 
ment, through  its  immigrant  bureau,  has  full  management 
of  immigration.  England,  France,  Germany  and  many 
other  foreign  countries  have  assumed  systems  of  govern- 
ment Republican  in  form. 

Imperial  rule  has  passed  into  oblivion.  In  the  oriental 
east  Jerusalem  has  grown  into  a  great  metropolis  and  scien- 
tists are  at  work  in  reclaiming  the  soil,  and  the  system  of 
government  of  ^^  Dreajnland,''''  under  which  the  ^^Nezu  N^a- 
tion  "  of  America  succeeds  so  admirably,  is  copied  almost 
in  its  entirety  by  them. 

^  .       ^  As    was    before    said,     proQfress    in 

But  to  the  Story.     ,      .    ,      .  i 

■^     physical  science  means  also  progress 

in  governmental,  moral  and  social  science.     The  people  of 

*  There  is  no  standing  army,  no  state  police,  or  state  guards. 
There  is  no  need  for  these  institutions. 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS.  213 

the  New  Nation  are  comparatively  liappy.  Nearly  every- 
body worked  and  has  work.  For  many  reasons  the  people 
do  not  work  very  hard.  Local  communities  (colonies)  are 
everywhere  self-sustaining.  Colossal  machinery  is  no 
longer  in  demand.  Gigantic  corporations  are  no  longer  a 
necessity  to  combine  capital  enough  to  start  the  great  ma- 
chinery to  manufacture  what  could  not  be  produced  on  a 
small  scale.  There  is  no  further  use  for  these  ponderous 
works.  Commodities  needful  can,  in  the  era  of  the  ^^ New 
Nation^^  be  produced  iu  a  much  smaller  way.  The  mon- 
strous coal-beds  became  nearly  exhausted  in  running  en- 
gines, some  to  the  extent  of  over  10,000  horse-power.  The 
very  element,  most  abundant  in  the  environment  of  man, 
hitherto  not  made  to  work  (atmosphere),  familiar  though 
with  it,  unbroken  still,  wild,  but  so  tame,  is  applied  as  a 
source  of  motivity  in  "  Dreamland." 

Light-weight  vehicles  are 
Light-Weight  Vehicles,  propelled  by  ^mr;./,',  in  a  man- 
ner  applied  so  that  the  weight  of  any  one  riding  produces 
all  the  force  that  is  necessary,  and  occasionally  rising  on 
your  feet  gives  the  reproducing  spring  a  chance  to  regain 
the  expended  force.  Other  vehicles  of  various  size  are  pro- 
pelled by  storage  electricity,  easily  regulated  and  guided. 
We  saw  an  ingeneous  contrivance,  running  at  great  speed, 
simply  by  a  reversible  fan  standing  up  over  the  head  of  the 
rider  as  an  air-motor. 

We  are  told  that  improvements  in  many  departments  are 
still  going  on.  Air-motors,  altogether  of  a  different  order 
from  anything  known  before,  are  in  use.  Compressed  air 
is  in  use,  in  this  wonderful  laud,  extensively.  Standpipe- 
reservoirs  and  water-motors  are  applied  in  producing  elec- 
tricity. Electro-motors,  water,  air  and  the  wind,  one  way 
and  another,  do  the  work,  whenever  machinery  can  be 
made  possible  thus  to  lighten  labor. 

Railroad  trains,  street  cars,  mills,  shops  and  many  forms 
of  manufactories  and  machines  used  in  husbandry,  are  run 
by  air-motor  force,  the  principles  of  which  were,  for  ages, 


214  RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

hidden  in  tlie  secret  recesses  of  the  human  brain  ;  doubtless 
electricity,  atmosphere,  water  and  gravity-inotor  or  gravi- 
tation, will  be  the  coming  motor-forces  of  the  world.  We 
were  shown  many  forms,  or  ways,  by  which  air-motors  and 
wind-fans  made  air  available  in  the  industrial  arts.  The 
machinery,  generally  speaking,  is  not  complicated  and 
easily  managed. 

We  remember,  in  the  "old  nation,"  one  hot  summer,  we 
spent  our  vacation  on  the  northern  lakes,  at  Ishpeming  and 
Calumet,  compressed  air  was  conducted  far  down  into 
deep  copper  mines,  which  run  their  drills,  and  the  same  air 
thus  used  gave  the  m\\\^xs  frcsJi  air  to  breathe.  Several  of 
these  mines  were  lighted  by  electric  incandescent  light. 

There  is  in  extensive  use  a  pneu- 
Pneumatic  Service.  ^^^,^,^^,^^  ,„^ii  ^.^^i,^  between  all 

the  larger  cities  by  means  of  which  small  packages  of  mail 
matter  reaches  its  destination  in  a  few  minutes.  This  is  a 
great  improvement  over  any  other  known  means  of  inter- 
state communication,  save  that  of  the  telegraph,  which,  of 
course,  was  available  only  so  far  as  brief  messages  would 
answer  the  purpose.  There  exists  a  perfect  net-work  of 
pneumatic  service  all  through  the  United  States,  reaching 
all  cities  of  5,000  inhabitants  and  upward.  Packages 
weighing  as  much  as  three  pounds  can  be  sent  with  perfect 
safety  and  with  almost  electric  speed. 

en  In  our  reverie  through  "/J>;7Y?;;//^;/^" 

^reat  .   ^^^^  ^^^^^  shown  the  wonders  of  Niagara 

Falls  and  its  utilit}^  W^e  saw  immense  electric  plants  in 
operation  that  lighted  the  city  of  Buffalo.  The  falls  are 
lighted.  The  effect  of  the  scenery  by  night  far  exceeds  the 
scene  by  daylight.  There  is  an  electric  light-house  service 
on  the  lake,  from  Buffalo  to  Detroit,  so  vessels  sail  by  night 
with  as  much  safety  as  in  the  day  time.  Immense  factories, 
within  fifty  miles  of  the  falls,  receive  their  power  as  well  as 
their  light  from  the  water-power  afforded  by  the  Niagara. 
This  power  is  merely  nominal  in  cost,  or  else  the  atmos- 
pheric motors  would  be  the  source  of  power  even  here. 


RANDOM   THOUGHTS.  215 

TUT   ^   1   IT      4.      •  Factories  everywhere  over  the  state 

Model  Factories.  ^^^  constructed  so  as  to  combine  health, 
comfort  and  art.  Ventilation,  warming  and  reading  rooms 
receive  special  consideration  ;  sun-lighted  bath-rooms,  lunch 
and  toilet  rooms  nicely  furnished ;  every  convenience  that 
would  add  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  ivage-earners  while  per- 
forming their  task  of  eight  hours'  labor.  Everywhere  san- 
itary rules  are  the  first  of  all  considerations  in  construct- 
ing factories.  Bven  great  machine  shops  have  an  aspect 
which  give  you  the  impression  that  refinement  predomi- 
nates. The  working  people  have  a  professional  air  about 
them  which  at  once  impresses  you  with  the  idea  that  labor  is 
receiving  its  just  reward  and  the  former  line  of  demarkation^ 
which  separated  (socially)  employer  from  the  employed,  is 
almost  entirely  obliterated. 

.  We  wandered  through  "Dreamland" 

^  *  with  much  interest. 

There  are  none  very  rich  and  none  very  poor.  People  are 
interested  in  each  other's  welfare  and  give  help  to  the  un- 
fortunate. Men  and  women  (it  seems)  are  putting  forth 
every  effort  in  matters  of  reform  and  improvement.  The 
sciences  are  made  practical  and  applied  so  as  to  lighten  labor^ 
lifting  all  physical  weight  from  the  brain  that  the  intellectual 
faculties  of  man  may  the  better  work  in  unison  wath  the 
physical  brain  and  hand  down  to  man  ways  and  means  by 
which  he  can  rise  to  eminence  and  loftier  thoughts  and 
aspirations.  The  "New  Nation"  practically  demonstrates 
that  as  man  rises  intellectually  the  farther  he  gets  away 
from  the  physical,  ponderous  environment. 

.        .  The  entire  system  of  navigation  in  use  in 

Navigation.  hj)j.^^^|^^^„  ^^  widely  differs  from  the  old 

methods  that  accidents  are  few  and  the  trip  by  passenger 
ships  is  readily  made  in  from  three  to  four  days  between 
New  York  and  Liverpool.  The  ships  are  constructed  of 
papier-mache^  aluminum,  maleable  glass,  iron  rods  and 
bolts,  so  that  they  are  entirely  fire-proof;  double  hulls 
propelled    by    compressed    air.      Wind-motors   to   compress 


2l6  RANDOM   THOUGHTS. 

the  air,  and  this,  then,  is  elaborated  to  rnn  the  propelling 
screws,  of  which  there  are  three.  These  ships  are  600  to  700 
feet  long,  built  in  sections,  and  the  hulls  are  so  constructed 
as  to  serve  for  storage  of  air.  The  passenger  capacity  is  not 
more  than  500,  and  only  one  cabin  service. 

We  were  shown  that  these  vessels  float  in  a  depth  of 
from  5  to  8  feet  of  water  and  cross  two  waves,  which  over- 
comes the  heaving  and  plunging  of  the  vessel,  and,  having 
two  hulls,  obviates  also  extreme  rocking.  By  the  new  motor 
one  single  item,  of  carrying  many  hundred  tons  of  coal,  is 
overcome,  and  is  a  great  improvement  over  the  "old"  and 
ponderous  ships. 

Railroads  and  also  telegraphs,  that  are  connected  with 
running  of  trains,  are  entirely  in  the  hands  or  management 
of  the  government. 

Railroads  are  so  constructed  that  there  is  scarcely  a  pos- 
sibility for  an  accident  to  occur.  There  is  a  passenger  road, 
entirely  separated  from  the  freight  road.  A  double  track, 
beside  the  track  for  freight  trains.  No  switches  connect 
with  the  freight  road;  all  switches  work  with  automatic 
springs,  besides  every  switch  is  guarded  by  a  sentinel,  who 
is  relieved  every  six  hours. 

The  rails  are  made  of  the  best  of  steel — continuous  and 
charged  with  electricity.  This  serves  as  a  magnet.  The 
wheels  of  the  coaches  are  made  oi papier-macJie^  with  a  steel 
tire ;  thus  the  body  of  the  wheel  being  a  non-conductor  of 
electricity  the  steel  tire  is  attracted  to  the  rail  by  the  elec- 
tricity with  which  the  rail  is  charged,  making  it  thus  almost 
impossible  to  derail  a  train,  and  the  greater  the  speed  the 
greater  is  the  magnetic  attraction.  Extra  rails  are  placed 
on  either  side  of  the  regular  track,  so  if  the  train  does  leave 
the  track  the  rails  outside  will  possibly  prevent  its  going 
farther.  The  body  of  the  coach  is  built  of  light  material, 
aluminum  smd  papier-mache.  The  entire  coach  above  the 
wheels  does  not  weigh  over  a  ton  and  each  coach  accommo- 
dates seventy-five  to  one  hundred  passengers.  There  are 
coaches   for  summer  use  and  coaches  adapted  for  winter. 


R,\NDOM   THOUGHTS.  217 

The  coaches  are  warmed  and  lighted  b}-  electricit}^,  generated 
by  the  motion  of  the  train.  The  propelling  motor  force  is 
derived  from  air  and  electric-motor.  Each  trunk  line  runs 
two  special  fast  express  trains  each  way  daily  between  all 
large  cities.  Those  running  between  New  York  and  Chi- 
cago make  the  trip  in  twelve  hours.,  Then  there  are  accom- 
modation trains.  There  is  no  dust,  making  travelling  in 
^'Drecunland^''  really  a  pleasure  and  absolutely  safe  and  in 
quick  time. 

In  our  rambling  visit  to  the  "AVz£/  Nation^''  we  seemed 
unconscious,  still  our  memory  and  understanding  served  us 
well,  and  by  some  unknown  law,  while  in  a  dream  or 
trance,  we  passed  from  the  realizing  point  of  existence,  in 
the  drama  of  life,  to  the  vanishing  distance  of  the  dissolving 
view,  all  of  which  was  so  vividly  portrayed  on  our  mental 
ken^  where  all  was  real  but  new. 

The  bird  in  the  tree  against  which  we  were  reclining  was 
still  discoursing  his  little  song  and  we  realized  that  we  were 
no  longer  in  "Dreamland." 

We  felt  a  deep  regret  that  our  vision  of  the  '"'' N^eiv  N'a- 
tiofi'''  could  not  be  materialized  and  continued  there  forever. 
Those  of  us  who  have  reached  the  age  q>{ silvery  hair^  and 
who  are  beginning  to  look  through  the  leafless  branches 
•of  what  was  once  in  the  green  tree,  may  know  that,  as  we 
are  in  the  closing  scene  of  the  last  act,  that  the  curtain 
must  soon  drop,  and  now  shall  we  importune  the  gods  that 
we  may  be  permitted  to  return  in  spirit  and  look  in  upon 
the  '''' New  Nation''^  a  hundred  years  hence  and  enjoy  our- 
selves, even  with  a  people  who  are  most  prosperous  and 
happy  ? 

"  If  solid  happiness  we  prize, 

Within  our  breast  this  jewel  lies, 
And  they  are  fools  who  roam  : 

The  world  has  nothing  to  bestow  ; 
From  our  ownselves  our  joys  must  flow, 
And  that  dear  hut,  our  home. ' ' 


BIOQRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

Plate  I  '^^^  Stearns  familj'  came  to  America 

T     TT     04.  -n/r     r\     with  Gov.  Winthrop,  June,  1820.     Was 

1.  H.  btearns,  M.  D.   ,        ^ ,,     c  i^  >%        t 

'  born  at  Mansfield,  Mass.,  June  14,  1825. 

His  boyhood  days  were  spent  with  his  parents  on  the  farm  and  in 
attending  the  common  school.  While  5^et  quite  a  3'oath  he  mastered 
civil  engineering  ;  was  the  first  to  sink  artesian  wells  in  the  South. 
Meanwhile  all  available  time  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  medicine, 
in  which  profession  he  attained  eminence,  especially  as  a  surgeon. 
Was  surgeon  of  the  famous  2 2d  Mass.  V.  I.  Was  a  member  of  the 
Mass.  Legislature  in  1868.  For  many  years  was  surgeon  in  charge  of 
the  Soldiers'  Home  in  Togus,  Maine,  and  at  -Milwaukee,  Wis.  Also 
U.  S.  Examining  Surgeon  for  Pensions  and  Health  Commissioner  of 
that  city.  Is  Chaplain  of  Lynn  Post,  No.  5,  G.  A.  R.,  Dept.  of 
Mass.  Has  been  a  zealous  worker  for  humanity,  contributing  both  to 
medical  and  journalistic  literature.  Wrote  the  history  of  his  native 
state,  and  ranks  to-day  with  our  most  noted  self-made  men. 

Dr.  Stearns  raised  a  happy  family  of  one  son  and  eight  daughters, 
who  are  married  and  doing  well.  May  the  years  be  kind  to  him,  that 
he  may  safely  land  in  the  harbor  of  perpetual  happiness. 

Plate    II  Born  Sept.   14,   1830,  Ontario,  Canada.     His 

p  J  HP  father   was  of  Welsh    and    Irish    descent ;    his 

mother  was  of  Irish  and  German,  a  combination 
of  the  best  blood,  and  doubtless  accounts  for  that  never-failing  energy 
Mr.  Evans  has  manifested  all  through  life.  At  the  years  of  majority  he 
took  the  side  of  reform.  Helped  to  overthrow  the  Tory  government. 
In  186 1  he  settled  in  Tonawanda,  N.  Y.  Became  an  ardent  supporter 
of  the  Union  cause.  In  1880  cast  his  vote  for  Gen.  Garfield,  the  last  in 
line  of  that  party,  being  unwilling  to  support  a  party,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, that  would  sanction  Monopolies,  Trusts  and  other  combinations 
of  Capital  against  Labor.  He  also  boldly  proclaimed  his  absolute 
opposition  to  the  liquor  traffic.  He  was  unanimously  nominated  on 
the  Reform  ticket,  and  in  1885  received  308,904  votes  for  the  New 
York  Legislature.  In  1889  he  wrote  that  well-known  and  popular 
"Address  to  the  American  People,"  calling  in  conference  all  good 
citizens  who  were  opposed  to  class  legislation,  and  all  who  favored  a 
government  where  the  rich  and  poor  have  equal  chances  under  the  law 
to  acquire  a  competency,  to  meet  and  enter  upon  establishing  a  National 
Reform  party.  The  progress  of  the  new  movement  is  well  known. 
Mr.  Pvvans  is  an  historic  man  of  the  age,  widely  known  in  National 
Reform  and  i)hilanthropic  movements.     He  is  a  wealthy  man,  is  presi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   vSKETCHES.  219 

dent  of  Evans,  McLaren  &  Co.,  bankers.  Has  employed  thousands  of 
workmen  in  his  lumber  and  timber  trade  for  over  forty  years.  Never 
had  a  "strike  "  to  contend  with.  He  was  always  ready  to  share  with 
his  people,  and,  with  all  his  liberality  and  philanthropic  work,  he 
gradually  became  a  millionaire,  for  the  "  Bread  cast  upon  the  waters 
will  return  again  after  man}^  days  "  verified  in  the  life  of  our  friend 
and  humanitarian. 

Plate    III.  ^^'"-^   born  August  18, 

-  --,..«.  .  ,,  ,,  ^.  ,r^  -r  •.-  -r^  181Q,  near  Bath,  Steu- 
A.  WlIfordHall,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.      ten  bounty,  N.  Y.     His 

father  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane  under  Gen- 
eral Scott  in  the  war  of  181 2.  His  boyhood  days  were  spent  on  the 
farm  and  much  of  that  time  he  was  driver-boy  on  the  Erie  Canal.  He 
early  emigrated  to  Ohio,  where,  by  his  own  energy,  he  rose  gradually 
to  eminence.  Science  and  philosophy  were  his  choice.  His  first  work 
of  note  is  entitled  "  Problem  of  Human  Life,"  which  reached  a  sale  of 
over  100,000  copies.  His  monthly  publication,  entitled  "  The  Scien- 
tific Arena, ' '  has  reached  a  circulation  of  over  700,000.  As  a  scientist 
Prof.  Hall  stands  as  a  peer  with  such  men  as  Tyndall,  Spencer,  Hurley, 
Helmholz  and  others  of  like  reputation.  His  new  discourse  on 
"Sound"  and  others  of  nature's  hidden  principles  of  the  elements 
will  give  the  hero  of  our  imperfect  sketch  a  place  in  the  world's  his- 
tory, as  well  as  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  mankind,  as  a  humanitarian  and 
philanthropist  of  greatness  that  makes  us  proud  of  the  human  race. 
The  wage-workers  of  America  have  a  zealous  co-worker  in  Prof.  Hall 
in  all  that  is  right  and  demands  reform  for  the  progress  and  welfare 
of  mankind — a  man  who  rose  from  a  farmer's  boy  to  a  sage  in  the 
highest  attainments  in  science  and  philosophy. 

Plaf      TV  Ex-Postmaster   General  ;     his 

_,.  _    ,        ___  '  .  administration    was    a   brilliant 

Fig.  I.— John  Wanamaker.  ^^^^^^^     ^e  conducts  a  great 

general   store  in   Philadelphia,  Pa.;    employs  over  5,000   people  and 
shares  profits  with  them.     He  is  a  true  philanthropist,  an  able  business 
man  and  statesman,  and,  if  nominated,  will  be  our  next  President. 
_,.  _^  ._     __,.,,        ,  Has  passed  the  half-century 

Fig  2.-Frances  E.  Willard.  ^^^^   -^  ^^^^^  ^^^^.^.^^ .    -^ 

mistress  of  the  platform  ;    has  lectured  and  written  in  the  interest  of 
the  wage- workers  of  America  more  than  any  other  w^oman,  devoting 
the  greater  part  of  her  life  to  reform  and  the  elevation  of  mankind. 
_,.  __.  __        .    ,   T-r         1         Is  a  self  made  man  ;    is  widely 

Flg.3.-Hon.  Daniel  Hand,  known  in  the  South  as  a  generous 
and  successful  business  man  and  philanthropist.  He  donated  $1,- 
000,000  for  the  education  of  negro  children. 


2  20  BIOGRAPHICAL   vSKETCHES. 

Fig.  4.-Richard  M.  Hunt.  ,  .'^''%l"'^''""'\°'  '""=  ^^'"''^'^ 

fair  at  Chicago,  111. 
Plate  V  ^^^  passed  over  on  the  shady  side  of  life,  yet  in  a 

C  f^  n  '  good  condition,  and  hence  has  many  useful  years 
*  before  him.  He  rose  in  the  world  by  his  own 
endeavor,  gradually  built  up  a  world-wide  reputation  as  a  man  of 
honor  and  a  genius  in  his  line.  He  has  also  acquired  a  good  for- 
tune, and  being  endowed  with  a  congenial  disposition  he  is  qualified 
to  enjoy  it.  Mr.  Conn  never  had  to  contend  with  strikes,  for 
he  is  kind  to  his  people,  shares  profits,  and  takes  as  much  pleasure  to 
see  his  employees  get  on  well  in  the  world  as  himself.  He  does  not 
look  out  for  cheaper  labor,  but  is  satisfied  and  glad  to  keep  his  old 
hands,  though  they  may  cost  him  more.  He  has  the  largest  band 
instrument  factory  in  the  world.  He  makes  the  best  instruments  that 
are  made.  His  trade  extends  to  all  parts  of  the  world  wherever  band 
music  is  heard.  Mr.  Conn  is  widely  known,  and  through  his  inven- 
tions and  improvements  da?id  music  is  as  far  superior  to  that  of  fifty 
years  ago  as  the  electric  light  over  the  farmer's  tallow  dip.  He  is  a 
humanitarian  as  well  as  a  philanthropist.  His  factories  are  at  Elk- 
heart,  Ind.,  and  Worcester,  Mass. 

Plate  VI. 

■rr-        ,        T-»         T^'ii    i^i  A  well-known  labor  leader. 

Fig.  I. — Ben  Tillett. 

T-':_    ^        T       •    L  TT    -rir-ii-  Donated  all  his  wealth  to 

Fig.  2.-Isa.ah  v.  Williamson.  ^^,„,^  ^„  i^^j^^^^;^,  T„i„. 

ing  School  for  Boys,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Fig.   3-— J.    H.   Stead.       J^ditot  o[  Pa// J/a/I  Gase-fie. 

Fig.  4. — Florence  Nightingale.    England's  philanthropist. 

Plate  VII  Grand  Master  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Loco- 

Frank  P.  Sargent,   r'"'  ^'"■'Tz/T"  <^""""' ■,"•">=»' 

=>  known  ;  the  child  of  nature  and  the  man 

of  the  hour  ;  is  of  the  people  and  labors  for  the  welfare  of  his  fellow 
workmen. 

Plate  VIII  ^^  ^  ^^^^'  °^  middle   age   and 

T7;«.    x        T_r«i^-  u   r-       J  already    has   shaken    the    socia^ 

r-ig.  I. — Helen  H.  Gardener.        , ,     rr     ir        ^ 

°  world.     Her   life   is   devoted   to 

reform  ;  the  establishment  of  laws  that  will  give  all  peoples  an  equal 
chance  for  "life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  Her  last 
book,  entitled  "Pray  Yon,  Sir,  Is  This  Your  Daugldcrf'  and 
'•/s  This  Your  Son,  My  Lord?"  published  by  the  Arena  Pub/ishing 
Co.,  Boston,  Mass.     The  sale  of  these  books  has  been  unprccedenied. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  221 

Fig.  2.-Hamlin  Garland.  ,  .'■''^  f'/^'f /^Hfn"     "' 

°  delineates  its  life  faithfully,  pow- 

erfully.—5^;?  Frajicisco  Chronicle.  "  Is  fresh,  vigorous  and  original  ; 
leaped  into  fame  ;  promises  as  much  as  any  cotemporary  American 
writer." — Toronto  Globe.  He  shows  the  apparent  hopeless  position  of 
the  wage-earners  of  to-day  a  way  out. 

His  works  are  published  by  the  Arena   Publishing  Co.,   Boston, 
Mass. 

Fig.  3.-Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage.     J'  'jf '"  ""=  p"™'^  "^  "^^ 

°    ^  J  &      and  all  the  space  we  have  at 

our  command  is  simply  to  say  that-the  hero  of  our  sketch  has  reached 
popularity  with  such  as  Beecher,  Theo.  Parker,  Lyman  Abbott,  and 
in  point  of  reform  and  help  of  the  wage-earners'  cause,  as  well  as  a 
correct  reconciliation  of  Capital  to  Labor,  law  and  order  and  good 
American  government,  he  stands  to-day  unequalled.  His  writings  are 
extensive,  national,  humane  and  philanthropic  ;  a  character  grand, 
great,  honorable  and  cosmopolitan. 

Fig.  4.-B.  O.  Flower.     /==  \  "='"  T  '"  """  ""T"  °^  T' 

^     ^  ot  unbounded  energy  and  a    worker 

for  humanity.  Editor  of  ''The  Are?ia,"  a  popular  monthly  maga- 
zine devoted  to  literature,  science  and  reform.  He  is  author  of 
many  works.  Notable  among  them  is  his  "Civilization  Inferno," 
"Studies  in  the  Social  Cellar,"  etc.;  should  be  read  by  everybody. 
Published  by  the  Arena  Publishing  Co  ,  Boston,  Mass. 

Plate  IX.  Secretary  of  American  Federation  of 

Fig.  I. — Christ  Evans.  Labor. 

r--        «        TLi  T  i_  XT    T^    1    1-         Senator,  of  Portland,  Or- 

Fig.  2. — Hon.  Joseph  N.  Dolph.  ^  '       ,   ^t 

°  ^         I-  f        egon.      He  worked  his  way 

up  from  the  farm  to  law  and  Congress. 

T--        ^        -R/r         r^    i.i.        T-»    1  Ladies'     Board    of    Man- 

Fig.  3. — Mrs.  Potter  Palmer.  „,    ^A^   ^  ■ 

*=»    ^  agers  World  s  Fair.     Is  em- 

inently a  superior  woman;  a  true  reformer;  a  leader  in  whatever 
channel  she  moves. 

Fig.  4. — Rev.  Lyman  Abbott,         A    famous    preacher    and 
D.  D.,  Ph.D.  author. 

Plate  X.  Gen.  Russell  N.  Alger.  Ex-CommanderofG.  A.  r. 

Plate  XI.  „     .^  .       r.     r. 

-.,.  i-^    -nn-    T-»    11  President  Palace  Car  Company, 

Fig.  I. — G.  M.  Pullman.  ^ 

T^.  T-»    -mr     A    ji  Grand  Master  Brotherhood  of  Loco- 

Fig.  2.-P.  M.  Arthur.    „„,i^,  ^„^,^^,,, 


222  BIOGRAPHICAL    vSKETCHES. 

Fig.  3.-Mrs.  Margaret  Gibson.    ^^^  ^^^^'  "''^''°'  °' 
Fig.  4— John  P.  Haines.    .  '^"ifZ"  °'"!'  ^"^Z'T  Y'"'"' 

o    'f       J  for   the    Prevention    of  Cruelty   to 

Animals. 

Plate  XII.  Presidential  candidate   of  the 

General  James  B.  Weaver.  Peoples  Party,  1892. 

Plate  XIII  Secretary  of  State  under  Presi- 

Hon.  Walter  Q.  Gresham.    f'-'Grover  Cleveland's  Admin- 
^  istration.     His  second  term. 

Plate  XIV  Senator  from   Iowa.     Eminent, 

Hon.  William  B.  Allison.   P''°f''""'  ^f  philanthropic.    He 

IS    the    most   popular   among   the 
people  who  know  him  best. 

Plate  XV  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under 

Grover  Cleveland's  second  term  as 
President  of  the  U.  S.  of  A. 


Hon.  John  Griffin  Carlisle. 


Plate  XVI  '^^^  wealthiest  iron  manufac- 

Fig.  I  .-Andre  w  Carnegie.    '""  '''^f~-  ^°d  perhaps  i„ 

*  °  the  world.     He  rose  from  a  poor 

boy,  whose  father  was  a  potter,  in  Scotland.  He  first  attained  tel- 
egraphy, then  to  an  iron  manufacturer.  He  never  had  any  trouble 
with  his  people  until  he  allowed  his  factories  to  pass  under  the  man- 
agement of  unprincipled  capitalists.  • 

Fig.  2.-Joseph  Howard.   J^^^|=b"'^d  J"™"^' ™'i  phiian- 

Fig.  3. — W.  H.  Bailey.       Executive  Board,  K.  of  L. 

Fig.  4— Mrs.  Leonora  M.  Barry.     ^  Organizer  of  Woman's 
°    ^  -^       Branch   of  the  Knights 

of  Labor.     President  and  ex-member  of  Executive  Board  of  K.  of  L. 


TABLE    OK    CONTENTS 


THE    WAGE-WORKERS    OF    AMERICA. 

The  Relation  of  Capital  to  Labor  ;  Logical  Points  Regarding 
the  Problem  of  the  Labor  Troubles  Now  More  or  Less 
Agitated  by  the  People  of  the  United  States  ;  Labor  Unions 
vs.    Capital  ;    The    Right   and    Wrong    Side  ;    Where  the 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  223 

Means  of  Correction  May  be  Found  ;  The  Working  Classes 
and  Capital  ;  Happy  Homes  at  Last  for  All  Who  Will 
Study  the  Subject  ;  The  Wise  Statesman  ;  The  Man  Who  page 

Has  a  Head  and  also  a  Heart ;   Etc.,  Etc.,  5-   14 

Definition   and    Classification,  .  .  .  .  .  14-19 

Discoveries  :  Necessities  ;  Demand  for  Capital  ;  For  Trades- 
men ;  For  Skilled  Labor  ;  Rush  of  Business  ;  An  Age  of 
Electric  Commerce  ;  Lever  Power  of  Commerce  ;  Normal 
and  Abnormal  Conditions  of  Society  ;  Etc.,  Etc.,        .          .      ig-  36 


CORPORATIONS    AND   WAGE-WORKERS. 

Ownership  ;  Well  established  Datas  ;  Organizations  ;  Com- 
panies ;  Trusts  ;  Pools  ;  Monoplies  ;  Competitive  Labor  ; 
Poverty,  the  Destruction  of  the  Poor  ;  Labor  Bureaus  ; 
Scale  of  Prices  ;  State  Board  of  Arbitration  ;  Organized 
Labor  ;  How  the  Evil  of  Strikes  May  be  Averted  ;  Com- 
pulsory Arbitration;    Etc.,   Etc.,  ....  37-  46 

Monej^-Making  a  Mono-Mania  with  Some  People  ;  Educat- 
ing the  Faculties  ;  Dissatisfied  Capitalists  ;  Where  Legal 
Rulings  Should  Begin ;  Legal  and  Moral  Limitation  ; 
Irrefutable  Points  on  the  Labor  Problem  ;   Etc.,  Etc., 

Strikes  ;  Lockouts  ;  Results  ;  Losses  ;  Number  of  Strikes 
The  Immediate  Causes  ;  How  to  Avoid  Trouble  ;  Etc 
Etc.,  


47-  57 


57 


With  Notes  on  Compulsory  Arbitration,  .          .          .  -67 


72 


TARIFF,    PEOPLES   AND   WAGEWORKERS. 


Wrong  Government ;  A  Good  Government ;  The  Best  Policy  ; 
Tax  or  License  ;  Protective  Tariff;  Free  Trade  ;  Revenue  ; 
Constitutionality  ;  Effect  on  Trade  and  Wages  ;  National 
Tariff  Bureau  ;   Purifying  Politics  ;   Etc.,  Etc.,  .  .      73-89 

Further  Arguments  on  the  Tariff  Question  ;  Disputed  Points  ; 
The  Right  Thing  to  Do  ;  A  New  Nation  Near  at  Hand ; 
None  Extremely  Rich  ;  None  Very  Poor ;  A  Promising 
Future  lor  America,  With  Notes  ;  Etc.,         ,         .         .  89-100 


CORPORATIONS    AND    UNIONS. 

Man's  Natural  Endowments  ;  Corporate  Organizations  and 
Labor  Unions  ;  Confederation  of  Labor  ;  Primary  Reasons  ; 
Driven  to  it  ;  The  Right  to  Organize  ;  Good  and  Evil 
Effects;  The  Right  Course  ;  Self- Defense;  Political  Philos- 
ophy ;  Reason  and  Power  to  Search ;  Experience  and 
Necessity  Elements  of  Evolution  ;  How  Civil  Government 
May  be  Developed  ;  State  Police  ;  The  Difficulty  Settled  ; 
Harmony  and  Happiness  the  Rule  and  the  End ;  How 
Paupers  are  Made;   Cost  of  Living  ;   Etc.,  Etc.,  .         .    101-113 

The  Work  and  Cost  of  Living, 113-119 

How  Tramps  are  Made,  .......    1 19-124 

Social  Monstrosities,  .......        123-126 


224  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

COMPETITION  ;    EIGHT-HOUR    SYSTEM,    ETC. 

The  Life  of  Trade ;  Men  Will  Do  Their  Best ;  Ambition  ; 
Eight-Hour  System  ;  Fundamental  Reasons ;  Hours  for 
Traffic;  Intellectual  Trusts  ;  Mental  Profit;  The  Law  Must 
Favor  It ;  Immigration  ;  How  It  Should  be  Regulated  by 
Law;  The  Most  Liberal  View;   Etc.,  Etc., 

Sub-division  ot  the  Eight- Hour  System, 

Education,  Intellectual,  Monopol}',  Trusts,  Mental  Pau- 
perism; An  Open  Field ;   Etc.,  .          .  .         .  . 

Immigration  and  Suffrage,          ...... 

Land  Syndicates;  With  Notes;    Etc.,  .  .         .          . 


P>'iE 

127 
131- 

131 
135 

135- 
145- 

155- 

145 
155 
158 

MORAL,    SOCIAL,    FOOD   AND    BODY. 

On  the  Moral  and  Social  Effects  of  What  We  Eat  and  Drink  ; 
The  Comparative  Value  of  Different  Articles  of  Diet  ; 
Chemical  Analysis  of  the  Body  and  Food  ;  Table  of  Com- 
parative Value  of  Food  and  Drink  ;  How  to  Economize 
and  Still  be  Strong  ;  Clothing  ;  Home- Fabric  ;  A  Help  to 
the  Wage-earner  as  well  as  the  Rich  ;  Something  About 
Social  Life;  The  Drink  Habit;  Etc.,  Etc.,  .         .         159-168 

Gone  to  Their  Long  Home, 168-172 

Where  There  is  Much  Smoke  There  Must  be  Some  Fire,         .    172-178 


RANDOM    THOUGHTS. 

The  New  Nation  ;  National  Park  Improvement ;  Work  for 
the  Jobless  Man  ;  Four  Months  Each  Year  ;  Less  Than 
Half  a  Million  ;   Landscape  Art ;  All  the  World  Will  be 

Attracted   There;    Etc.,    Etc., 

Let  the  Government  Help, 179-183 

A  Stepping-Stone  to  Sviccess,         ......    183-186 

W^orkingman's    Library, 186-188 

Regulation  of  Multi-Millionaires, 188-189 

What  Constitutes  National  Greatness,        .         .         .          .  189- 191 

A  Fight  for  Life, 191-192 

THE    PUBLIC    PRESS — OPINIONS. 

Editorials — Comments  ;   Evolution,  People  and  Journalism  ; 
Campaigns;    ICducational  ;    Moulding    the    Mind;     If  the 
Press  is  Shaping  the  Sentiment  of  the  People,  Where  Does 
the    Responsibility    Rest?     If  Not,    All    is    Right,    What 
Then;  Other  Thoughts  and  Comments  ;  Etc.,  Etc.,      .  193-214 

Colonial  Days,        .........    195 

Injustice,  How  It  Pays,  ...  ...  197 

Get  on  the  Right  Side, 198 

1999,  A  Vision  and  Story,          ......  199-214 

Descriptive  Vision  of  the  Nczv  Nalion  and  Partial  Recapitu- 
lation, .          • 205-214 

Biographical  Sketches  of  Illustrations,  .         .          .          .218 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  \^hich  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subjea  to  immediate  recall. 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  UBRARY 


